From Here to Eternity: Momoko's Story
by The Cat Whispurrer
Summary: Momoko's story from High School to the bitter-sweet end. Rated T for suggestive material and language. No Flaming or you will be reported and blocked. Anonymous reviews accepted. On HIATUS and TO BE EDITED
1. Prelude and My Fate Decided

**This is the story of Momoko's life from High School on to achieving her Great Reward. **

**Story will feature language, suggestive material, and actual Japanese words. Definitions to these words are provided on my Profile page, so to make things easier, you may wish to right click on my name and select Open in New Tab from the drop-down menu.  
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**Disclaimer: This is fanfiction, so do I really need one of these? Fine...I do not own any of the Powerpuff Girls or the Powerpuff Girls Z or any characters relating to same.**

**Please note: the characters of Shiimasutou Kaarii/Feminine Bridgette and Josh Jones/Super Bash do NOT belong to me, but are being lent to me by their creators. Kaarii/Bridgette belongs to my friend cakedecorator and Josh/Bash belongs to Super Bash. Also, the only characters that DO belong to me are Luke Utonium/Solar Blade and Rikiya Akatsutsumi/Highland Blast (name changes later).**

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><p><strong>From Here to Eternity:<strong>

**Momoko's Story**

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><p><strong>Part 1: The First Die is Cast<strong>

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><p><strong>Prelude<strong>

It has been two years since our battle with Kare and, despite the occasional annoyances of the monsters he left behind, things have been rather quiet; especially since our newest recruit, Shiimasutou Kaarii/Feminine Bridgette joined the team.

Kaarii and her ototo, Chico, were the victims of their parents' divorce and separated from each other for nani they thought would be all time since he still lived in the United States with their mother and she was now living with their father here in Nihon.

Fresh off the plane and packing the back of a cab with their luggage, a stray beam of Chemical-Z began to fall upon her father when she jumped up to intercept it and thus became her new alternate identity of Feminine Bridgette and wore a pink Powerpuff Girl Z uniform with her hair done up in a French-braid and had two katana-tachi on her side.

The first time we met her, we had been called to stop Fuzzy Lumpkins from tearing up the park. We had just landed to find a pink clad Powerpuff Girl Z whom we had never met before standing over an unconscious Fuzzy with her swords drawn and pushing against him with her foot to make sure that he was really out. We soon became fast friends as she shared many of our likes and dislikes. She was into sports like Kaoru, she loved fashion like Miyako, and she loved reading manga much like me.

When she met Ken and the Professor, she jumped on Ken and instantly began 'mothering' him; something she used to practically do to her ototo and Ken reminded her of him. And poor Peach, with his first 'wan' she snatched him up in her arms and practically smothered the small robotic dog with love and affection. In school she was one of the few who had absolutely iie problem telling off Himeko and putting her in her place at every turn.

Miyako, Kaoru, Kaarii, and I were in the last few days of Junior High and already making plans to go to High School together. We were quietly discussing this topic when Keane-sensei entered the classroom and called us to order to make an announcement.

"Daijobu, class, settle down now, onegai. I have an important announcement to make so listen closely. Our school district has been selected to take part in a foreign exchange student program and we are looking for volunteers to attend high school in the United States! So, who would like to join up?" Keane-sensei asked of us excitedly and we all remained silent; I knew I sure didn't want to become involved in such a program.

"Iie one, nobody wants to sign up for the program? Well, the applications can be found on my desk for those who would wish to change their minds" Keane-sensei informed us, sounding somewhat disappointed.

Later, at lunch, Miyako confessed to me and Kaoru, "I would have signed up for the student exchange, but it's just me and obaachan; I'm afraid she'd die without me around. And even then, I don't want to be away from Taka-chan."

"Given your obaachan's age and condition, I can agree with that sentiment" Kaoru noted lightly, though not making any mention of Takaaki as hearing of their romantic entanglement made her sick to her stomach.

"As much as I would like to see America again, I'm still just getting to know my way around Tokyo" Kaarii replied with a sigh.

"I don't think I could bear being away from my family and friends for such a long period of time" I told them and they nodded their heads in agreement.

"Ah Miyako, Momoko, Kaarii, I'm so glad I found you; nani do you think of my new dress?" Himeko Shirogane asked of us as she paraded back and forth in front of us wearing this hideously frilly neon purple dress that was covered with pastel green bows.

"It looks…nice" Miyako said, choosing her words carefully so as not to offend the girl.

"I don't know, I think it has entirely too many bows, not to mention that their colors are rather too flashy for my taste" Kaarii told her in all honesty.

"I think you should take it back and get a refund; that dress looks like trash" I replied, being none too subtle with my opinion.

She turned and glared at me in hatred for being so abrasive in giving my honest opinion, but hell, if she didn't want it, then why did she ask.

Just then one of her friends came over, "Himeko-sama, why don't you join up with the foreign exchange program? I mean, your sister is over in England, so maybe this is just nani you need to get in better with your parents" suggested the girl with her companion nodding her head in silent agreement.

"Hmm, maybe you're right. I think I will sign up" Himeko said with an evil grin towards me, but I was too wrapped up in talking with my friends to pay any attention.

And much to my surprise, Himeko did indeed sign up for the program, but she put down_ my name_ on the application instead. And I wouldn't find about it until the middle of summer as I was getting ready to begin high school.

Meanwhile, in Townsville

Gunned down in the prime of her life, the body of a young Powerpuff Girl, beaten, broken, knifed, and laser burned, lay in an empty alley while her spirit stood beside and looking at it in confusion, sadness, and fear. Two deities, having witnessed the whole event, lowered themselves down to stand behind the child's spirit.

"Come now, child, you've been through more than enough; it's time to go" spoke one of the deities as she set a gentle hand upon the young girl's shoulder.

She made no move, but remained in her place while thinking in silence, when she finally found her voice, "No, not yet, I need to find a way to tell my family the truth."

"We will discuss that issue later, right now, you need to come with us" spoke the second being in a firmer voice as he was losing his patience.

"Don't worry, we will find a way to communicate these things to your family, but for now it is imperative that you come with us" spoke the first as she took the girl's hand and led her away.

The young girl's spirit sat on a cloud, her knees drawn up to her chest as she watched the reaction of her brother as he discovered her body, a lone tear running down her cheek when she heard the anguished roar of anger and sadness of her 'brother', creation, and…lover, as he stood with her body in his arms.

The two divinations' superior approached the young spirit and gently sat down beside her as he said, "He loved you as though you were a part of him, didn't he?"

She said nothing, but merely nodded her head in sadness.

"It has been decided. You are to return to Earth, take up a selected host, and, through this host, reveal the truth to your family. But, once you succeed in your mission, you must then return the favor to your host by helping them with their own dilemma. Do you accept this term?" inquired the supreme divination.

She looked up in surprise, turned and hugged the supreme one beside her with great joy.

Chuckling, he said, "I'll take that as a 'yes'. Go now, Blossom, fulfill your mission and you will be allowed to join us once more to live out the rest of eternity in peace" spoke the supreme one as he sent her on her way.

Momoko's POV

And thus the hands of fate which governed my life were set into motion.

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><p><strong>My Fate Decided<strong>

A couple of months later, I was supposed to be meeting up with my friends at Kaoru's apartment to further discuss our plans for high school, when the Mayor, the school board's chief administrator, and my parents decided to drop a bomb on me.

I received a call from Bellum-san on my cell phone to meet them at the Mayor's office for an important discussion and I felt my stomach drop. 'Nani did I do this time?' I asked myself nervously.

I entered the mayor's office to find everyone gathered together to have their 'discussion' with me.

"Ah, Momoko-chan, onegai come in and sit down" welcomed the mayor as he gestured to a chair in the middle of the room.

I swallowed hard and hesitantly took the seat offered me to find myself face-to-face with the lot of them as they all smiled at me; I couldn't help but wonder nani kind of trouble I could be in and why.

"Now I am quite sure you are wondering why it is we have called you here to meet with us so we'll just get right to the point" began the mayor before turning to nod his head to the chief administrator to the board of education.

"Momoko-chan, you have been selected to attend your first two high school years as a foreign exchange student in America" spoke the administrator quickly as he handed me my application and a letter of acceptance from the American school that I was to attend, though he refused to look me in the eyes; I found out why.

At first I couldn't believe my eyes, and then I noticed Himeko's calling card: a star at the end of the signature. I felt like I was going to be sick as I clamped one hand over my mouth. I looked up at the administrator in disbelief as he _knew_ nani was happening and _letting_ it happen anyway.

"This is a great honor that is being bestowed upon you, Momoko-chan; aren't you excited?" said my father happily and then the room went silent.

"Momoko, haven't you anything you'd like to say?" my mother asked of me as I continued to stare at the application in total shock.

I remained silent, sitting there as my hopes and dreams shattered into a million pieces right before my eyes. 'Attend high school in America; who the hell are you people kidding?!' I shouted in askance to myself.

Sure, I can carry on a casual conversation in Ei-go and comprehend nani is being said to me, but I can't really read it, unless it was Japanese written in romaji, that I can understand but not straight Ei-go. Not to mention that I don't know anyone who lives there nor do I know their customs. I'll be like a fish out of water.

"Momoko-san…" began Ms. Bellum when I finally found my voice.

"Gomen, I need to use the restroom" I said and bolted from the room in a panic.

I entered the ladies' room and began to think quickly; choosing the furthest stall to hide in as I tucked my knees up under my chin in hopes iie one would find me.

Fifteen minutes later, just when I thought that maybe everyone had changed their minds, both Mom and Ms. Bellum entered the restroom in search of me.

"Are you sure she's still in here?" inquired Ms. Bellum.

"Hai, she's probably hiding in the end stall" Mom replied and I cursed to myself; Mom knew me too well.

"Momoko-san, onegai come out here so we can talk" beckoned Bellum-san but I made iie reply as I closed my eyes praying that they would give up and go away.

"Momoko, we know you're in there, now come out right now" Mom demanded but I still made iie reply.

"Don't you want this great honor to attend school in another country?" Bellum-san asked of me, finally starting to get the idea.

"Iie, I don't! I want to stay here and attend school along with my friends!" I shouted back out as I broke out crying.

"Then why did you fill out the application to be a foreign exchange student?" Mom asked of me in measured patience.

I slid the application under the stall door and saw my mother pick it up as I told her, "I didn't fill it out! Shirogane Himeko filled out the application and put my name on it…to get even with me for insulting one of her dresses." I cried as the thoughts of never seeing my family or friends ever again flooded my mind and I began sobbing even harder.

"Well, if you wish to get back at her for doing this to you, you will come out of there, accept this great honor that is being bestowed upon you, and return to us after a couple of years as an accomplished student" Mom told me in a much calmer voice.

I let this sink in for a couple of minutes and realized that they were right. I could not fight the inevitable forever so I gave in. I opened the door slowly and peeked out at my mother with tears still in my eyes. She opened her arms to me and I fell into them as I began crying again.

The two of them helped me get cleaned up so that I would be presentable for getting my picture taken down in the passport office. I was also stripped of all my clothes, given a thorough physical and received all of my inoculations, though they virtually needed to tie me down to give me the injections; I hate needles.

'This is happening; this is really happening,' I realized to myself and soon felt like it was me against the world and I was rapidly losing the fight.

I now sat in the main room of Miyako's home with Kaoru to my left, Miyako to my right, and Kaarii sitting in the chair across from us as I stared at the floor.

"I can't believe that lousy bitch is being allowed to get away with this!" exclaimed Kaoru angrily only to receive a hard look from Kaarii for using foul language; most of us disapproved of such language.

"Tell me about it" I replied as I rubbed my head to massage away a headache.

"I know this has to be hard, Momoko-chan, but this is such a wonderful honor to be able to attend school in another country" Miyako said softly as she took my hand into her own.

"And America really isn't that bad a place to live in" added Kaarii encouragingly.

"But I had wanted to go to school with the three of you" I whined in reply.

"Not to mention that she won't be around to help us in battle" commented Kaoru as she crossed her arms in annoyance.

"There is that, but with Kaarii on the team it shouldn't be that much of an inconvenience" offered Miyako gently.

"Hey, here's an idea: let's head over to the lab right now" offered Kaarii as she and Miyako took my hands and pulled me out of my seat while Kaoru led us to the door.

I sat on the main lounge of the lab with the Professor, Ken, and Kaarii sitting across from me, Miyako on my right, and Kaoru on my left as they all enjoyed sipping tea while all I could do was to stare down into my cup.

"Wan, we'll be short one Powerpuff Girl Z, da-wan" Peach said sadly from Kaarii's lap after I finished explaining everything to them.

"Hai, that concept had crossed my mind too" replied Kaoru as she looked over at the Professor who was reading the documents that I had been given.

"We'll find some way to adjust. According to this, you'll be staying with my cousin in Townsville; you'll like him and his family, they're really quite nice" the Professor informed me, hoping to make me feel a little better about the whole idea.

"And he has three…er…two daughters and a son of his own, all of whom are about your age" Ken said and I couldn't help but send him a questioning look.

"Nani do you mean by that?" inquired Kaarii for me.

The Professor sighed and passed us a copy of the Townsville Gazette that had been translated into Nihon-go:

_A Blossom Gets Plucked_

_The body of Blossom Utonium was found brutally beaten and ravaged in a vacant alley not too far from Townsville Junior High last Saturday morning by her brother, Luke._

_According to family, Blossom had been searching for clues to the identities of those responsible for armed robbery of the National Bank and three jewelry stores in the area, an event that has come to be known as the Christmas Eve Massacre due to the large amount of innocent bloodshed. Apparently, she had gotten a little too close to finding the suspects and has now paid the ultimate price._

_Brought in for questioning, Brick, Boomer, and Butch (a.k.a. The Rowdyruff Boys) were released from police custody when the judge dismissed the case saying that all evidence presented was circumstantial and nothing proven._

I swallowed hard after reading this, just looking at the picture of the deceased girl on the obituary page, I felt that my own life was going to be in danger; she looked a lot like me.

"Momoko, I wish to caution you that while living with them, do not mention this topic to them. Luke is considered a loose cannon and the slightest thing could set him off" the Professor warned me.

"If that was meant to be reassuring, you failed miserably" Kaoru said as she looked at me with sympathy; I had my knees drawn up under my chin and a look of deep concern on my face.

"I'm sure things won't be all that bad; who knows, you may even have a lot of fun" offered Miyako as she placed a hand upon my shoulder.

"And you are being allowed to take your transformation belt with you in case you run into any trouble" Ken added brightly, though I didn't feel all that brightened.

I cried myself to sleep that night while silently asking why iie one was considering nani I wanted. And to make matters worse, I was to live with a powder keg that was set to go off at the slightest of touches.

I went clothes shopping with Mom, Kuriko, and my friends the next day. We entered the first shop and my friends and I headed for the back of the store to check out a few outfits.

"I wonder nani kind of clothes they wear in Townsville" I pondered as I examined myself in a mirror.

"The same kind you usually wear here" replied Kaarii as Miyako passed me another outfit to try on.

"Hai, but nani about their school uniforms, are they going to be similar to nani most high school students here or do they wear street clothes; and nani about American customs, nani are they like?" I asked as I stepped out of the changing booth to examine myself in the mirror once again.

Kaarii did her best to inform me of most American customs, though there were some things that I would just have to learn for myself. As for the uniform policy, according to her, that varied from school to school and even then mostly existed in private schools while I would be attending a public school.

Mom and Kuriko soon met up with us, Kuriko had new sets of underclothes, socks, and a couple sets of pajamas, all for me, in her arms. With Miyako's and Kaarii's help, I had found seven brand new outfits to wear.

At their insistence, I agreed to have my hair professionally washed and styled, with only a light trimming before leaving for home. That night all of my friends and family gave me a grand party to say 'Sayonara'. I then took a bath and went to sleep. During my sleep I felt a strange presence enter me, but thinking it was just my anxiety trying to get the better of me, I rolled over onto my side and continued to sleep.

Meanwhile, at the Utonium home in Townsville,

Luke's POV

I had just gotten home from a day of fighting with monsters and villains and was feeling rather sleepy. I entered the house, still in my uniform, to find the Professor watching television in the living room.

"Blade…Luke, may I have a word with you?" requested the Professor of me as he clicked the television off, addressing me first by my current form's name.

"If it's about your letting our guest use Blossom's room during her visit, go ahead; I finished clearing her belongings out yesterday" I replied while reverting back to my street identity and continuing to ascend the stairs to check up on my sisters who were asleep in their beds.

"I also thought you'd like a little information about the young lady who'll be staying with us. Her name is Ak-Akat…" started the Professor, stumbling on the girl's last name while reading the letter we had received from the school board which gave us all information on our visitor.

"Akatsutsumi Momoko, fifteen years old, resembles Blossom almost as though they were twins, is from Tokyo, Japan, and will be attending high school alongside of us. Don't look so surprised, I already read the letter" I informed him from the top of the stairs.

"Do I have your word that you won't do anything to harm her?" the Professor then inquired, surprising me.

"I have no reason to harm her. She's done nothing to me and, hell, I haven't even met her yet" I replied with a shrug.

"I just want to make sure you're willing to be hospitable towards her during her stay with us; this…" the Professor began and I finished for him, "Is her first time as a foreign exchange student and is sure to feel like fish out of water. Don't worry, I'll watch out for her. Besides we don't need Japan getting ticked off with us to the point of taking the matter to the damned U.N."

"Just remember: she speaks the most basics of English and may speak Japanese at some points" the Professor informed me.

"So do I and I'm not Japanese. Gomen nasai, I need to check up on Ami and Isamu. Oyasumi nasai, Professor" I said as I turned and went to check in on my sisters before turning in for the night myself.

It still felt a little strange referring to the girls by their new names, but with Blossom's death, Ami and Isamu no longer wished to be known by their original names.

"As Blossom died, so did the Powerpuff Girls," they told us.

The Professor was understanding and respected their wishes, even going as far as draining the old Chemical-X out of their systems and replacing it with a new substance called, Chemical-Z; it flowed through my veins as well, but that's a different story.

The result was rather surprising. Bubbles changed her name to Ami, a normal girl with a white belt that bore a teal compact on the buckle that doubled as a communicator and when she used her new powers, had to first transform into her new identity of Tama Berry where she wore a teal uniform. Buttercup changed her name to Isamu, similar to Ami, but her compact was lime and when she wanted to use her new powers had to transform into Static Barrage where she wore a lime uniform.

I peeked in on Isamu to find her lying on top of her bed, sound asleep while wearing only her lingerie and her ceiling fan running at full speed.

'At least she's wearing her underclothes this time' I told myself as I closed the door; the last time I checked in on her, she was stark naked. I made a mental note to call a repairman out to come fix her window air conditioning unit.

I carefully opened Ami's door and peeked in on her to find her cuddled up with her stuffed octopus, Octi, and whimpering.

'Kuso, another nightmare' I said to myself as I entered her room to kiss her on her temple and whispered into her ear, "Leave my Ami alone or there's going to be heck to pay."

She was the one person I did my best not to swear around as she didn't like such language. Whatever was pestering her in her nightmare decided to stop bothering her as Ami stopped whimpering and smiled. I kissed her cheek and slid out of the room to head off for my own room.

I cast a glance to the picture of Blossom that rested on my nightstand and then changed into my pajamas, slid into bed, bid Blossom oyasumi nasai, and went to sleep.

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><p><strong>Carly: So why rewrite this one, TCW-kun?<strong>

**TCW: Well, I realized that, after I had already posted this, that I had made some grammatical errors, mistook some Japanese words for others and/or had them spelled incorrectly, and misplaced some punctuation. So I decided to replace its predecessor with this newly edited version. Also, since some of the material was making some people uncomfortable, I thought to remove and changeup said material so that the story would come off better.**

**Carly: Those are some very good reasons.**

**TCW: I thought so too.**

**Carly: I can't wait to see what you've got in store for the next chapter!**

**Next time...**

**Momoko: I meet my new temporary family.**

**TCW: Also, expect to find a cameo appearance of another friend from a Disney cartoon!**

**Carly and Momoko: All this and more coming soon! But only if you all REVIEW!**


	2. The New Family

**Thank you for the reviews, my friends. For this chapter we join Momoko in meeting…**

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><p><strong>The New Family<strong>

The next morning, I said my final, tearful goodbyes to my family and friends, and left for the airport in a taxi. All of my things were placed onto a cart and wheeled through the customs department where my passport was requested and I was directed to take a seat till my flight to Hawaii arrived.

To say that I was scared through all of this would have been a major understatement; I was terrified to the point of tears a few times and had iie one to seek comfort from. I did receive a few questioning looks from the other patrons on the plane and a few words of comfort from the flight attendants, but none of this was helping.

When we landed in Hawaii, we were made to wait for the next flight to arrive and while sitting alone, a strange little girl with a blue koala came up to talk to me, "Aloha, you seem depressed about something."

I do not know why, but I told her my story, "…and now I'm really scared of nani is to come."

"Hmm, I can understand how that can be scary, but in truth, usually that which we fear is usually just our overactive imaginations making things seem much worse than they really are" she replied to me with a smile.

It seemed strange, but her words really seemed to boost my morale, "You're rather wise for you age."

"Mahalo, but it was really something my sister told me when I was younger and crying from a thunderstorm. By the way, I'm Lilo and this is my dog, Stitch" she replied as we shared a quick hug.

"My name is Momoko and arigato for your kind words" I expressed to her with a polite bow just as my flight's arrival was announced and I was soon joining the others in boarding the plane and proceeded on to Townsville.

We landed at the Townsville airport and when I stepped off the plane I was directed to another customs office where it was almost a repeat performance, but due to high security alerts, the fact that I was a foreigner, and the amount of baggage I had with me, they all but performed a strip search of me. I was annoyed, disgusted, and appalled by the time they dismissed and directed me to a cart with my belongings on it and was sent on my way with a strict warning to behave myself.

I exited customs and saw a young blond haired girl wearing a white blouse and teal skirt with a white belt which had a teal buckle about her waist, white crew socks, black Mary-Jane shoes, and holding a sign that had my name on it. She reminded me of Miyako, but her blond pig-tails were not nearly as long.

I approached her and, as I neared, a giant squid crashed onto the ground behind me causing me to jump in fright and cringe as I awaited a painful demise. The beast reared back up and caught a black haired girl, wearing a lime PPGZ uniform and carrying green nunchucks, came flying over to attack the beast again. It caught her up in its tentacles and began to attempt to rip her in half when this black haired boy wearing a gun metal gray shirt and black vest, jeans, boots, and fingerless gloves, who was least my age came rushing up with a black buster sword trailing behind him and he brought the weapon down on the squid's head, slicing the creature in half.

I watched the black haired girl struggling to get free of the tentacles when the boy approached her and helped her get free before dropping to one knee to go over her, checking for injuries.

"I'm fine, Blade" the girl said to the boy and he nodded his head in acceptance of her statement while pushing buttons on her compact. A bright flash of light shot from the compact and she was soon back in what I assumed to be her normal street attire; similar to the blond girl's but with a lime skirt and her belt had a lime buckle.

"Are you alright? Isamu, you almost squished our guest with that squid!" inquired the blond of me before turning and addressing her sister in a firm voice.

"Sorry, it was an accident" Isamu apologized once the boy had dismissed her.

"Blade can you help us…" the blond girl started to request of their male companion but he had already left and taken the squid's carcass with him.

"You know your brother, all business" commented a man who resembled the Professor back home and I realized that this must have been his cousin. "Well, you must be Momoko Akatsutsumi; my cousin, Professor Kitazawa, has told me a great deal about you. Girls, why don't you gather our guest's things, put them into the van, and then we'll return home where she can rest up from her long flight."

"Yes, sir" the two replied in unison. Obviously these two were sisters, though, when they spoke, they seemed to cast a glance around themselves for, nani I can only assume to be a missing third voice.

I know what you must be thinking, why have I not at least said 'konnichiwa' to anyone, right? Well, it is not like I am trying to be rude, but they would not let me get in a word edgewise. I was led to a white van, into which we loaded my baggage, and soon were on our way to nani I figured would be my home for the next couple of years.

Traveling down the highway, I finally got the opportunity to talk with my hosts, with the blond girl opening up the conversation first, "By the way, I'm Ami and my sister's name is Isamu."

"Konnichiwa, I'm Akatsutsumi Momoko, it is an honor to make your acquaintance" I replied with a smile.

"Likewise, I'm sure; however, Ami forgot to introduce you to our father, the Professor. Also we have a brother whom you may or may not meet, his name's Luke" Isamu replied from my left.

"Well, Luke is a very busy person. Welcome to Townsville, Momoko" Utonium-san said with a smile.

"Arigato, it looks like a really nice place to live" I replied while returning the smile.

We pulled up to a two story home that had three large circular upstairs windows. I couldn't help but stare up at it in surprise at its large size; it was bigger than Miyako's house.

We gathered my things and I smiled at the two girls who smiled back before retreating into their home. I entered the home and could not help but notice that the genkan was missing and the girls had not even removed their shoes. I turned to look at Utonium-san in puzzlement as he entered behind me.

"What's wrong Momoko?" Ami inquired of me.

"According to Japanese customs, one must remove one's shoes in the genkan, a small lobby or foyer of a home, before stepping into a house proper" replied Utonium-san for me. "You needn't be concerned, Momoko, in America we do not build our homes with genkan-tachi and don't have the fine, delicate tatami mats on our floors so you needn't worry."

I smiled to him and he nodded his head as he turned to look up at his daughters who were staring at me in questioning. He cleared his throat and the girls instantly got back to work in carrying my baggage up the stairs.

Up in my designated room, as we dropped the last of my luggage onto the floor, I could tell that the girls were uncomfortable with my being there as they sent each other desperate looks.

"Nani is wrong?" I asked them with a disarming smile.

"It's just that…this used to be our sister's room" Ami explained to me with tears in her eyes.

'Great, I'm going to be sleeping in the bedroom of a dead girl; sweet dreams, or rather, sweet nightmares, Momoko' I thought to myself wryly.

"Come on, Ami; let's leave Momoko alone to unpack and get some rest" offered Isamu as she placed a hand upon her shimai's shoulder and guided her out of the room.

Alone in the room, I began to take my first real look around the room as I unpacked. Admittedly, I did like the décor; the furniture was in a light oak, a privacy screen with Nihon-go print stood on one side of the room, there was a rug on the floor which resembled a tatami mat that lay in the middle of the room, and there was plenty of room for all of my clothes. I placed my underclothes, socks, and pajamas in the drawers that were built into the bed and hung the rest of my things up in the closet. I then noticed the vanity; it had a heart shaped mirror and a couple of drawers in which I placed my hair brush and bows into. I then turned to the small desk beside the bed and set my laptop computer upon it.

I then sat down upon the bed and lay down to try it out; I was asleep in seconds. There was a knock on the door and when I looked up at the clock, I noticed that I had been asleep for almost two hours. The door cautiously opened and Ami stuck her head in the door.

"Sorry to wake you, but it's almost time to eat dinner" Ami had informed me.

"Ami, I forgot to ask earlier, but where is the toilet?" I inquired of her and she took my hand to lead me to the room.

I entered the room and could not help but notice that the benki was in the same room as the ō-furo. I would have asked about this but I needed to go too badly. After washing my hands, I took a quick look around the room; the o-furo was quite shallow compared to the ones back home and there were iie bathing stools to be seen either. This was another puzzle that I would soon learn the answer to, but in the meantime, I had yet to partake of dinner.

I entered the dining room where Ami and Isamu patiently sat at the table while Utonium-san was placing the meal upon the table. I took the seat indicated to me and stared down at the table setting and noticing, much to my relief, that they used chopsticks also.

Soon, Utonium-san sat down to my left with Ami to my right and Isamu across the table from me and we all began to eat the meal that had been placed upon the table. Everyone was so quiet at first while watching to see whether or not I would like the meal. I then took it upon myself to open the conversation.

"Gomen nasai for sleeping for so long, I didn't realize how tired I was" I apologized to them.

"It's called jet-lag, Momoko-chan, it happens to everyone" Utonium-san said with a smile and I felt the room suddenly relax. "For the record 'Gomen nasai' means 'I'm sorry' in Japanese."

"Really; I didn't know you spoke Japanese, Professor" replied Isamu as she smiled up at her father; I noticed that she was the only one not using chopsticks, but instead had a fork in her hand.

"I've only picked up a few words here and there, but I wouldn't mind learning more of the language at some point in time" Utonium-san informed her. "After dinner, I expect you two to take your baths."

"Do we have to?" Isamu inquired in almost a whine.

"Actually, I was hoping you could show me how to use the o-furo; it's rather different from the ones we use in Nihon" I replied, feeling rather embarrassed to have to ask.

"I thought you were from Japan" noted Ami in confusion.

"Nihon is Japan in Nihon-go or Japanese" the Professor answered for me and the girls nodded their heads in acceptance of this.

"Oh, well in that case, sure, I'd be happy to show you" Isamu answered much to my pleasure as I really wanted to take a bath.

A little later, Isamu knocked on my door and when I answered it, she was holding a towel and change of clothes for sleeping in. I gathered up my things and followed after her.

Once we got inside and closed the door, Isamu inquired, "So in what way is the tub so different from the one you're used to?"

"Well, for one, we normally bathe outside the actual o-furo and we only use hot water to fill it" I explained to her.

"So you actually bathe that way? I'll have to tell Ami that! We saw a cartoon movie once where they showed a young girl bathing like that and she thought it was inappropriate" Isamu told me and I giggled as we began getting undressed.

"Also, the o-furo-tachi back home are deep enough for a person to sink all the way down to their neckline" I informed her as I watched her set the temperature, partially closed the door on the o-furo, and pulled up on a switch on the spout; instead of filling the tub, she turned it into a shower.

"Well, that's different" I said in surprise as I watched her adjust the height on the shower head.

"Really; in what way?" she asked as she entered the shower and beckoned me to follow.

"Well, showers are usually taken in apartment buildings back in…Japan and then it's a handheld device that is used to bathe oneself with" I informed her as she stepped back into the water stream to get herself completely wet.

"Oh, I've seen those before, but we usually just stick with the stationary kind" Isamu said as she stepped out of the water stream and gestured for me to take my turn and I stared at the device in nervousness.

Isamu was quick to comprehend my discomfort and walked me through step-by-step on how to take a shower.

"I have to admit that, while this is a strange and new experience for me, this is rather enjoyable" I told Isamu as she stepped back into the water to rinse herself off.

"The first time I ever took a shower was with Luke; you want to talk about awkward and embarrassing, but he remained focused on my safety and getting cleaned up. I found it rather enjoyable too, though I still hate the idea of taking baths" Isamu confessed to me and I giggled.

She then stepped back out of the water and I took my turn once more. I stepped back out of the water, satisfied that I was thoroughly rinsed of all soap, and Isamu turned the water off. We then stepped out of the shower and began to get dried off. I reached down to pick up my clothes to begin getting dressed when I noticed our clothes had vanished.

"I think we may have a problem" I informed Isamu anxiously.

"What's wrong, Momoko?" Isamu inquired when she also noticed our clothes were missing. "Ami, did you take our clothes?" she called out the door.

"The Professor was getting ready to do the laundry and told me to get all the dirty clothes from the bathroom hamper" Ami called back in her defense.

"Grand, then follow us so that you can take our dirty towels to him" barked Isamu and Ami obediently followed after us.

I slid into my room, removed and passed Ami my towel, and ran to the drawers under my bed where I rapidly pulled out a change of clothes. I then stepped over to the changing screen, even though iie one was in the room, and quickly changed into my pajamas. I then walked over to the vanity and, taking a relaxing breath of air, pulled out my notepad where I began to make a few notes to myself: Talk with Utonium-san about internet access; find out where the high school is located and how to get there; ask the girls about the school's uniforms.

I then placed my notes on the vanity top so that I would see them when I went to brush my hair in the morning when I heard someone walking by my door. I peeked out to see who it was, but the door at the end of the hall closed. I guessed that this must have been Luke. I then slipped out of my room and headed for the oteari before turning in for the night. When I exited out of the oteari, I met Utonium-san who smiled at me.

"I think Luke-san came home" I told him with a nervous smile.

"Don't worry, he won't harm you. Oyasumi nasai" he replied to me and I left back to my room where I slid in between the covers and went right to sleep.

Luke's POV

I entered the house late in the evening, early for me, and climbed the stairs to head for my room. As I was passing Blossom's room, I heard some noises coming from inside the room and assumed that this must be our guest and so decided to leave her alone for the time being.

I sat down at my desk to read over one of Blossom's old diaries, my gifts from her according to the will she had left for us on her desk, when I looked up to notice the time; it was after 10:00 PM. I rose up and stretched my arms over my head and left the room to check up on Ami and Isamu.

Isamu was lying on her stomach while only wearing her panties and I shook my head at her while cursing myself for not calling the repairman.

I then checked in on Ami to find her curled up once more with Octi, but at least this time she was smiling, 'Sweet dreams, Ami' I silently bid her.

I was walking by Blossom's room again and decided to peek in on our guest. I looked at her in a startled silence when I first entered as she looked so astonishingly like Blossom it was scary. I then noticed that there were some small notes on the vanity and, pulling out my pen-light and read over them carefully before deciding to answer them. Clicking off my pen-light, I turned back to see Momoko as she slept soundly and could not help but feel a small want of her. I decided to ignore my feelings and quietly left back out the door to return to my room.

Momoko's POV

I awoke the next morning to find my notes had all been answered: 'We have Wi-Fi, just plug your computer in, access your ISP, and start surfing. I'll give you the codes to access your email in the morning.' 'Here's a map of the town, I highlighted the route to the high school, but the girl's will show you where to catch the bus.' 'Wear whatever you wish, there is iie uniform.'

And there was one more note: 'Welcome to Townsville, Momoko-chan; gomen nasai for not stopping to visit with you, but I've been busy and you looked too sweet to disturb your rest. I'll look forward to visiting with you sometime soon. – Luke'

'He's been in here, in my room?' I asked of myself as I suddenly felt quite vulnerable.

I re-read the note, taking a particular notice of the line, _'you looked too sweet to disturb your rest_,' and thought, 'Maybe he's really a nice person,' but I would speak with one of his sisters first.

I began brushing my hair and then set my hair up in a high ponytail and tied my bow into it. I then dressed and slipped into my sandals; it was rather warm. I then walked down the stairs just as Ami was starting to ascend them.

"Oh, I was just coming to wake you for breakfast" Ami told me with a smile.

"Arigato, but as long as you're here, do you think we can talk up in my room afterwards?" I asked of her, noticing the slightly confused look on her face.

"Sure, I'd love to; but with all due respects, what does 'arigato' mean?" Ami asked me and I realized that I spoke in Nihon-go once again.

"It means 'thank you' and breakfast is ready" replied Utonium-san as he poked his head out of the dining room.

Later, up in my room with Ami, I showed her the notes I had made and that were answered while I set up my computer.

"Luke has taken a liking to you, that's a good thing" Ami told me with a smile after reading his note of welcoming.

"Is it normal for him to do stuff like that?" I asked of her after plugging my computer's charger into the outlet.

"He tends to check in on us while we're asleep. He probably heard you in here when he came home last night and decided to make sure you were sleeping properly. He then noticed your notes and decided to answer them for you" Ami replied offhandedly.

"So then he's a nice person as a rule?" I asked, unsure of how this kind of a question must have sounded to her.

"Do you mean something like will he sneak in here to harm you while you're asleep or something? No, in fact he often comes into my room to kiss me on the cheek and scare away any bad dreams that I may be suffering" Ami said with a light giggle; she was reminding me of Miyako more and more, just with a higher pitched voice and less subdued mannerisms.

There was a knock on the door and Isamu poked her head in while wearing a bathing suit, "I'm going swimming out back, would any of you care to join me?"

"Hai, I would be honored to" I replied and pulled out my bikini.

"I'll come too, just give me a couple of minutes to change" Ami piped and ran to her room.

We played and soaked in the pool until about lunch when we decided to return inside to eat.

"Just drop your wet bathing suits off in the laundry room; you'll find some warm towels to wrap around yourselves on top of the dryer" Utonium-san informed us as he sprayed us down with the garden hose to rinse the chlorine off and out of our hair.

We stripped off our bathing suits while in the laundry room and wrapped ourselves in the towels Utonium-san had mentioned to us. I was beginning to feel quite comfortable with my new family, though the mysterious brother was still kind of bothering me.

I reached my bedroom door when the door opened on its own and there in front of me stood a boy with black hair, wearing a red shirt, black jeans and sneakers, stood a full head higher than me, and looked like he could overpower me with little difficulty. I leapt back in fear of him uttering a small shriek and unintentionally dropping my towel as I stared at him in concern, afraid to move.

He looked at my bare body and blushed deeply when he reached down and picked up my towel and passed it to me as he averted his gaze.

"Gomen nasai to startle you like that, but I noticed you outside playing in the pool and thought to set your computer up for accessing your email for you" he apologized to me while I took my towel and wrapped it around me.

"A-arigato" I said nervously once covered and he turned back to look at me with a smile.

Again, I made iie move as I stared at him with thoughts of his overpowering and assaulting me kept playing in my mind.

Just then Isamu came up the stairs and tackled the guy to the floor.

"Are you pestering our guest of the next two years?" Isamu asked of him with a smile, while ignoring the fact that she had lost her own towel in the process, as she sat on his back to pin him down.

"Actually, I had just finished setting up her computer to receive email and was just heading out to run a patrol of the city when I thought it best to say 'good afternoon' or as she would say, 'kon'nichiwa.' Oh, and you're A.C. unit has been repaired" he replied to her as he re-covered her with her towel once she had risen off of him and kissed her on the forehead.

"Alright, but won't you at least join us for lunch first, we miss having you with us" Isamu requested with a forced pout.

"Well, I am supposed to head out on patrol, but…I'll let you talk me into it" he replied as he kissed her on the cheek and she ran to her room to change.

I vacated into my room after watching him leave and breathed a sigh of relief; I was almost sure he was going to attack me. As I pulled out a change of clothes, I heard the telephone ring and, as I dropped my towel to begin getting dressed, a black flash of light shot past my window and my cheeks went red. For its speed, there was little chance that whatever it was could have seen me, but still there was something deep down that told me someone had indeed seen me in all of my glory.

I walked down to the dining room where everyone was getting ready for lunch when I heard Isamu ask, "Where's Luke? He said he was going to join us for lunch."

'Was that the black flash that flew past my window?' I asked myself.

"I'm sorry, but the mayor's office called and he went to take care of an emergency. He told me to tell you that he was sorry to miss out on lunch but that he would be home in time to see you off to bed" replied Utonium-san and Isamu looked out the window.

"Permission to be excused; I'm not hungry" she said, running past me and up to her room.

"Please forgive her, she doesn't like it when Luke breaks a promise he made to her" Ami said quietly to me as she took my hand and led me to the meal table.

"I can understand; I always hated it whenever someone broke their promise to me. I mean, a promise is a promise and shouldn't be broken" I replied in Isamu's defense, though that last part seemed more like it was coming from someone else other than me.

"For a second there, you sounded a lot like Blossom" Ami whispered to me as she stared at me with tears in her eyes.

"Gomen nasai, I didn't mean to" I said to her.

"Alright, eat up you two" Utonium-san told us and we obliged his request.

Ami and I decided to return to my room and paused to listen to Isamu mumbling to herself as she tore up her room, "It's not fair; we matter just as much as Blossom did. Why he has to take matters into his own hands and ignore us is beyond me. (She threw a book) He pretends to be our big brother and that he loves us only to turn tail and run to take care of the city and breaking his promises to us. (She must have ripped her pillow in half as we heard something being ripped) It's not fair!" She must have been getting tired as she began giving way to sobbing instead.

I knocked on the door once things settled down, only to have Isamu shout, "What do you want?" She was crying.

"We're going to my room for some heart-to-heart conversation; would you care to join us?" I asked and noticed the surprised look on Ami's face.

The door opened and Isamu slipped out and wrapped her arms around me as she began crying against me. I then led her to my room with Ami in tow and we all sat down, me at my desk, Isamu on my bed, and Ami on the floor.

"I know this isn't supposed to be any of my business, but, how long has Luke been acting like this?" I asked hoping that they would be willing to discuss this quietly.

"The brotherly persona or his breaking of _every single_ promise he makes to us?" Isamu asked in a mumble; judging from the way she emphasized the words 'every single,' I could tell she was quite upset with him.

"Mostly the latter, but if you wish to discuss everything, I'm willing to listen" I replied unaware of the story that was to follow.

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><p><strong>Carly: So Luke's behavior seems to be affecting everyone. I wonder what his deal is.<strong>

**TCW: Only time and the next chapter will tell!**

**Carly: I can't wait for it!**

**Next time…**

**Momoko: The girls tell me their story.**

**Luke: Is it possible that I'm falling for Momoko even though I'm still focusing on Blossom's death?**

**TCW: Find out in the next fun-filled chapter!**

**Carly and Momoko: Just be sure to leave us some nice REVIEWS!**


	3. The Girls' Story

**Thanks again for the fine reviews, friends. And for this chapter, we get to learn a little bit more about the Ami's and Isamu's past with:**

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><p><strong>The Girls' Story<strong>

"I guess that the best way to explain everything is go back to the beginning. We were born of sugar, spice, everything nice, and an accidental measure of Chemical-X. Much in a similar manner, Luke was brought into existence, but what astounded us was that he was the same age as us" Ami began and I looked at her in confusion.

"Gomen nasai, but you were made from nani?" I asked of them as it did not sound feasibly possible, I mean, I know where children come from.

"It comes from the nursery rhyme: Sugar, spice, and everything nice: that's what little girls are made of. Snips, snails, and puppy dog tails: that's what little boys are made of…or something to that effect at any rate. But the Professor accidentally added Chemical-X to the mixture when he was creating us and so we became super heroes, saving the day just before bedtime…usually" Ami added and I decided to let it go at that.

"Anyways, Luke became the brother we had always wanted, helping us with our homework, treating our injuries, protecting us from those stronger than us, playing with us, etc. But somewhere along the way, he seemed to develop more than a brotherly bond with our late sister, Blossom. The two were almost always being seen together and we thought it was great…at the time" Isamu continued for her sister.

"I remember the first thunderstorm with Luke, it was an especially violent one and I became so scared that I cried out in fear. He came to my room, closed my curtains, and slid into bed with me to provide some comfort. I guess after I had fallen asleep and he left because the next morning, he was gone" Ami reminisced with a smile.

"That was because he went back to his own room to find Blossom sitting up on his bed. They were becoming closer and closer and were, well, becoming…intimate. I remember this one time, it was like a day or two before Blossom died; Luke was out helping Ami ride her bike and Blossom snuck into his room. I had opened the door quietly, thinking Luke had returned and was studying in there when I saw Blossom pleasuring herself while kneeling on his bed. I returned to my room and soon heard her leave out of his room to return to her own" Isamu said in slight derision.

"Did she really do that?" Ami asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, and what's more the next night, I noticed something a bit off about Blossom while in the shower and when I confronted her with it, she confessed that she had Luke 'do' her about seven times while we were away at the mall" Isamu said with a blush and making quotation mark gestures with her fingers for added emphasis.

"You're making that up!" accused Ami with a blush of her own.

"I'm as serious as a heart-attack! But the following morning, Blossom took off early and was not to be heard from for the rest of the day. Luke became concerned and took off once the sunset arrived and flew off in search of her. He found her just as the sun set and the streetlights came on. She…*her was voice now cracking as she tried to hold back the tears* she was battered, beaten, broken, and…lifeless. He became so distraught that he tore up the alleyway in which he found her till he gave way to tears as police vehicles and the two of us arrived" Isamu said as she began to wipe the tears from her eyes.

"I can still hear him roaring in anguish as he stood with her in his arms and his claws extended; he sounded like a wild animal" Ami whimpered as she covered her ears in remembrance.

"And nani happened after that?" I asked encouragingly as I approached to sit down next to Isamu and gave her a comforting hug.

"At our insistence, the Professor drained the Chemical-X from our bodies and replaced it with this new substance called Chemical-Z. We then changed our names as we were no longer fueled by Chemical-X and had become normal girls, or at least that's what we thought. We found these belts on our bedsides the following morning and when we placed them on, we were turned into super-powered girls wearing entirely different uniforms. I became Berry and Isamu became Barrage; it seemed to fit as our brother's other identity is Blade" answered Ami with a sigh.

"For what little good it does" grumbled Isamu disappointedly.

"Nani do you mean by that?" I asked with curiosity.

"Luke became unusually quiet. He still checked on us each night as we slept, but there was obviously something missing in his life. He would remain protective over us, but he began to take it upon himself to protect the city as well, though he refused to allow us to help. He would make promises that, where he once would have kept them even if it meant that the city had to wait, to breaking them at the drop of a hat" Isamu replied as she wiped a few more tears from her eyes.

"Have either of you tried to talk to him about all of this?" I asked, trying to be helpful.

"Yes, but every time we did he would try to walk away and when we became insistent, he would turn around and shout at us to stay home where we would be safe" replied Ami as she stared down at her bare feet; like the rest of us, she had decided to forgo putting on any shoes or socks.

"It sounds as though he's afraid of something bad happening to one of you, too. He loves each of you as his shimai-tachi, but Blossom was revered as his other half, and when you all lost her, he felt it was his responsibility to protect those he still cares for. I'm sure if there was a way for him to keep from breaking his promises to you, he would" I said to them, but again, it felt like someone else was saying it.

"Is it me or does she sound a lot like Blossom?" Isamu inquired of her sister.

"She did it to me earlier, too. Hey, Luke's home" Ami replied as she looked out the window to see Luke coming home early.

We snuck out of my room and peeked around the corner to watch as a Luke, now dressed in black jeans, black vest, black boots, a gun metal grey shirt, black fingerless gloves, and had a buster sword on his waist, entered the house muttering, "Stupid baka, pulling me away from lunch with the girls and forcing me to break another promise to Isamu. Kid's probably torn up her room and missed her own lunch, again. Stupid mayor and his damned pickles, he can just find someone else to open the jar for him next time."

Ami giggled, Isamu sniffed back a few tears, and I just stood there looking at him in bewilderment. He approached the stairs and Isamu met him halfway, wrapping her arms around his neck as their eyes met and she leaned her head upon his shoulder.

'Something tells me that Luke is currently filling in for their lost shimai as well as being their kyodai and the town's protector' I guessed to myself, watching as Luke picked his shimai up in his arms and carried her up the stairs, past us, and to her room.

"Goodnight, what happened in here?" Luke asked aloud in mock-surprise.

"I'm sorry, I got mad because you broke another promise to me" Isamu replied.

"No, Isamu, I'm the one who's sorry, sorry for ditching you to help the mayor. Tell you what, you go get us a couple of sandwiches while I start with the clean-up, okay?" he inquired of her with a sigh.

She then left out of her room and headed for the kitchen while Ami and I returned to our rooms.

An hour later, as I typed an email to Miyako, there was a knock on my door.

"Come in" I replied to the knock, unaware as to whom it was I was granting entrance as I clicked 'Send.'

"Oh good; I see you got your computer up and running" Luke said from behind me and a jolt of fear shot through me; I thought it was going to be either Ami or Isamu, not _him_.

"L-Luke, I wasn't expecting you" I said nervously as I turned to face him.

"You're afraid of me…I'll go" he noted aloud with a hurt look and turned to face the door.

"Iie wait, onegai stay; I want to get to know you a little better so that I won't be so afraid of you" I told him and he turned back to face me.

"I am curious to know why it is that you're scared of me. I won't harm you" he told me.

"I suppose it's because I don't have an oniisan, I only have an imoto. And then there's your mysterious behavior…and that sword isn't helping me either" I confessed with a forced smile.

"Gomen nasai, I forgot I was still wearing my Blade uniform" he apologized as he gazed down at himself.

With that, he removed a rectangular communicator from his belt and, pressing a couple of buttons, reverted back into his regular form before approaching to sit on my bed. Every fiber of my being screamed against it, but for some reason or another, I rose up and sat down on the bed beside him.

"I'm sure being in a foreign land with circumstances and customs that you are unfamiliar with would also be quite intimidating" he added in a gentle voice.

"I've also been placed in your…shimai's room and after talking with Ami and Isamu, I can't help but feel vulnerable around you as I'm a defenseless intruder on sacred ground" this said as I turned to face away from him, fearful that he may slap me.

"I won't harm you, I give you my word on that" he promised as he took my hand into his own.

I turned and looked down as he gingerly clutched my hand in both of his and slowly looked up into his eyes. I don't know why but he soon began to close the distance between us, almost kissing me, when Luke pulled away and rose up to leave.

"Gomen nasai, I thought you were…someone else for a moment there" Luke confessed as he rose up and prepared to leave.

"She was more to you than just your shimai, wasn't she?" I asked as I gasped for breath to steady myself as I began to involuntarily shake.

"Hai…don't worry, I won't harm you" he answered simply.

I picked up a manga to read so as to help settle my nerves and decided to sit on my bed to read it, though I still had to do a bit of deep breathing to calm myself down.

Soon a mixture of metal music soon came through the door and both Ami and Isamu entered my room with questioning looks on their faces.

"What happened in here?" Isamu asked of me and I sent her a confused look.

"Nani do you mean; nothing happened in here" I told them as I placed my book down on the bed beside me.

"Momoko, Luke hasn't played any music in his room since Blossom died almost two months ago. He doesn't listen to music because it reminds him too much of their private moments together, but since he left your room, he's started playing the very CD Blossom gave him" Ami explained as she sat down in the chair at the desk.

I looked down at the floor, almost afraid to meet their eyes, when I decided to tell them nani had occurred, including the part where Luke almost kissed me. We sat there in silence, not knowing nani to say to each other when Utonium-san called us down to eat dinner. Luke was, of course, absent but the girls seemed expectant of this.

After dinner, we all went upstairs to get cleaned up, with Isamu and Ami insisting that I join them in bathing. We then returned to my room after dressing to talk some more.

"Mind if I ask you girls a slightly personal question?" I asked of them.

"Sure, go ahead…just as long as it isn't too personal" Isamu replied with a smile.

"Why did you change your names to Nihon-go names?" I asked of them innocently.

"Blossom and Luke both liked the Japanese culture and language, so they took to studying it on the side, even speaking it to one another when they didn't want us to understand what it was they were saying to each other while still sitting in the same room as us. It was because of this that we decided to change our names to Japanese names as a means of honoring Blossom. I've always liked the name Amy and so, after some studying, I found its Japanese equivalent is Ami and so changed my name to it" Ami explained simply.

"Understandable, but nani about you, Isamu; you do realize that yours is a boy's name, don't you?" I asked of Isamu.

"Yeah, but then I'm a tomboy and so thought it fit better than any of the girls' names I found" she replied and both Ami and I started giggling which caused Isamu to throw two pillows at each of us.

Thus started my first pillow fight with the girls and we continued until we began to drop from exhaustion and so decided to sleep on the floor together as shimai-tachi.

Luke's POV

I went to check in on the girls to make sure they were sleeping peacefully when I found the three of them curled up together on the floor in Momoko's room. I smiled down at the three of them as I wiped the tears from my eyes; with Momoko there, it seem as though Blossom had returned to us from the grave. I left for the linen closet and pulled out a blanket, returned to Momoko's room and draping it over them so as to keep them warm. I then kissed each of them oyasumi nasai, whispering 'arigato' into Momoko's ear, then headed for the door and, with one last glance at them, left for my room.

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><p><strong>Carly: You sure did change this one.<strong>

**TCW: Arigato, I promised you that I would.**

**Carly: True, so what's in store for the next chapter?**

**Next time...**

**Momoko: I unintentionally meet three new enemies and see a whole new side of Luke.**

**Ami: And school starts up again!**

**Isamu: You just had to remind us, didn't you?**

**TCW: All this and more coming soon!**

**Carly and Momoko: So leave some reviews onegai!**


	4. The Rowdyruff Boys

**Arigato, friends, for your nice reviews. For this chapter, Momoko meets Townsville's own version of…**

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><p><strong>The Rowdyruff Boys<strong>

The next day was spent shopping for school. Sure I had many of the standard, necessary supplies that would be needed, but there were always those few last minute items that were almost always forgotten. The girls were excited that Luke had agreed to tag along, reprieved of his duties to the city for the day. Naturally, I felt out of place as they all joked, played, and teased each other, though I did enjoy seeing them getting along.

I was looking over a set of calligraphy pencils when three boys, one dressed in red, another in green, and the last in blue, approached from behind me and one of them grabbed hold of my arm and turned me around rather violently as he growled, "Can't you ever die? Wait, you're not…" letting his train of thought drift away.

I looked at him in total fear when Luke appeared out of nowhere and placed one hand, which had three foot-long metal blades extruding from the back of it, upon one of the red-clad boy's shoulders and threatened, "Leave Momoko alone or I'll do what the damned justice system failed to do to you."

"Momoko, are you alright?" inquired Ami as she ran up and hugged me, but I remained silent.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about? I think you're being delusional again, Luke" the boy, a red-head wearing a red ball cap and red hooded-sweatshirt as his friend released my arm and they walked away with their one silent, indifferent partner in tow.

I had since dropped the pencil set I had been holding and stood there visibly shaking and trying not to cry, but failing miserably.

"Go ahead, let it out" Isamu whispered in my ear and I gave way to tears, burying my face in my hands.

"It's alright Momoko-chan, I won't let anyone harm you" a warm, comforting voice said to me and when I looked up, saw Luke looking at me with full compassion.

"Gomen, but he had me so scared; I expected him to pull a gun on me or something" I confessed before burying my face into my hands again.

"Ami, why don't you take Momoko to the little girls' room to get cleaned up while Isamu and I finish the shopping" Luke suggested and Ami nodded her head in agreement as she began to lead me away.

Later that afternoon, I lay on my bed up in my room contemplating on nani that boy had meant when he grabbed a hold of my arm while Luke, Ami, and Isamu remained downstairs to unpack our shopping. I quit massaging my arm, which could still feel the guy's grasp on it, and reached out to grab hold of my pillow and clutched it to my chest as I sat up on my bed when there was a knock on the door.

"Come in" I said and closed my eyes.

"Do you have a second?" Isamu asked of me with concern in her voice. I looked over to her and nodded my head.

"Gomen nasai to bother you, Momoko-chan, but I just remembered that we had yet to present you with a welcoming gift. I hope this will meet your approval" Luke said as he followed in behind Isamu and Ami, handing me a rather large gift-wrapped package.

"You didn't have to do that" I told them but still graciously accepted the gift.

"We wouldn't be proper hosts if we didn't" Ami told me as she waved her hands in an encouraging manner for me to open the package.

I opened it to find a large leather case with an executive set of professional calligraphy pens, pencils, ink, ink wells, and a tablet of parchment paper inside and I let out a gasp of surprise.

"Arigato, but these were so expensive" I said in awe as I slowly pulled the case that held them out of the box.

"After the kind of days your first few with us were like, not to mention nani happened to you today, you deserve them" Luke replied as he stared out my window.

I would later learn that he was watching as those same three boys from earlier had been walking by the house though seemed to pay little attention as they were too engrossed in their own conversation.

"Arigato" I said, sniffing back tears of gratefulness; I had always wanted such an elaborate set of calligraphy pens and pencils but could never afford it. "Oh, before I forget, do you think you can show me how to set my computer up to also translate English to Japanese and vice versa for working on any homework?"

"It would be my honor" Luke replied with a smile and sat down at my computer to get to work.

In a few minutes, Luke had my computer all set up so that whatever I typed out in romaji was translated into English and vice versa. He even went so far as to bring in a scanner/copier/printer unit and hooked it up to my computer. Ami and Isamu had since left to pack their book bags for school while Luke and I focused on packing mine together. Where once being alone with him would have unnerved me, I now felt quite comfortable with him, so much so that when he leaned over and kissed me on the cheek, I blushed and returned the kiss, also on the cheek.

Later that evening, after a hearty meal, which Luke was there to share with us, and a bath, as I had just finished changing into my pajamas someone knocked on my door.

"Come in" I called out as I kicked my slippers off.

Luke entered my room and I smiled up at him as he said, "Getting ready to turn in for the night? I'll go in a minute I just wanted to make sure you were alright."

I nodded my head to him and he turned to leave when I asked of him, "May I ask a kind of personal question?"

"Depends on the subject" he replied as he turned back to face me.

"The sword I get, but your hand…" I fell silent not knowing how to continue asking my question.

"Oh, you mean these" he started as he extended the blades once more, this time from both of his hands, and quickly retracted them. "I've had them for as long as I can remember. It was because of them and my proficiency with a sword that I earned my other name. Which reminds me, I forgot to tell you the other night, but my alternate identity is Blade."

I nodded my head again in acceptance of this and he bid me, "Oyasumi nasai to amai yume" as he left out of my door.

The first morning of school, after a nice breakfast and brushing my teeth, I was going through my luggage and found my transformation belt. I slipped the thing around my waist and grabbed up my book bag, checked myself in the full-length mirror one last time, and met up with the others to begin walking to the bus. A yellow bus drove up while we stood at the bus stop along with a small group of other kids and we boarded. Luke had me sit with him as the other kids on the bus kept sending me odd looks.

"Do only kids take this bus?" I asked of Luke innocently.

"This is a school bus; unlike in Japan, these are sent around to transport students to and from school exclusively" Luke explained and I found this to be quite fascinating.

"Sugoi, back home a high school student usually has to take at least two public buses and a few trains to get to school" I told him with a smile and we finished the journey in silence.

Soon after arriving, Luke was called away by a few of his friends, so Isamu showed me around the new school and we soon stopped at my new locker to stow my things away. As I was putting my books on the locker's shelf, those same three boys began to walk by, pausing to send me annoyed, but questioning looks.

"Take a picture, it'll last you longer" Isamu sneered as she glared back at them.

"Why don't you mind your own business before I cut that smart tongue out of your mouth, though I think I'll do it anyways" replied the black haired boy who was wearing a green jacket as he pulled out a pocket knife, causing Isamu to step back to stand against the lockers as he grabbed hold of her mouth to act as though he was going to carry through with his threat.

Luke's POV

I was talking a couple of friends when Ami came running up to me, "Luke, it's the Rowdyruff Boys again."

"I'm coming" I replied as I pulled out my buckle/communicator and transformed into my alternate form.

"Solar Blade," I called out as I transformed into his new alter ego amidst a grey background covered with black, crossed swords. In a quick dance-like performance, my slacks were replaced with black jeans, my red shirt was now a deep grey, a black leather vest appeared with a couple quick snaps of my fingers, black boots replaced my black sneakers, and black, leather finger-less gloves appeared on my hands. After the transformation I stood there with a determined expression on my face, legs spread apart, and my arms crossed.

Ami's POV

After looking away from the bright light, I now stood there staring at Luke in awe and I watched as he pulled his buster sword from its sheath.

We took off running and reached the end of the hall where we spotted the Rowdyruff Boys; Butch was threatening them with his pocket knife, holding Isamu by her mouth as she was up against her locker. Blade threw his sword forward and watched in pleasure as the boys pulled back at the sight of my weapon sinking into the floor; Butch more so since it had just missed his foot by a hair's breadth.

Momoko's POV

I was watching in terror of nani the green clad boy was about to do to Isamu, when a familiar buster sword suddenly pierced the floor between us, just barely missing the boy's foot, causing him and the other two boys to look back at Blade with concern. Ami was standing behind him and from the concerned look on her face, she had run to find and get him involved.

"Buster sword trumps pocket knife; now move along or next time I'll take your damned head off" Blade threatened as he and Ami approached us.

"We were already leaving" the red haired boy sneered as he and his companions began to walk away.

"Arigato, Lu-, er…Blade" I expressed to him as I released a tense breath of air.

Never removing his eyes from the boys, Blade retrieved his sword and returned it to its sheath, turning to face me only once the boys were out of sight and he had reverted back to his regular form.

"Like I said, I won't let anyone harm you" Luke said with a smile and I relaxed.

"Momoko, you're blushing" Ami said with a light giggle.

"Isamu, are you okay?" Luke asked of his sister, who still stood beside me but had her head down so that her bangs covered her eyes, as he knelt down in front of her.

"Why can't you stop threatening those jerks and just outright kill them?!" Isamu shouted as she began crying. "Kill them the way they did Blossom."

"Because two wrongs don't make a right; it's hard to accept it, but Luke can't attack them without just cause or he will be guilty of the same crime they committed" I said softly as I placed a hand upon Isamu's shoulder and she turned around to hug me; but again, it seemed like it wasn't really me saying it though I was beginning to get used to this feeling.

"There she goes again" remarked Ami with a sigh only to receive a questioning look from Luke.

"It seems that sometimes I can sound a lot like their shimai" I explained to Luke while still clutching my arms around Isamu.

"That's because she always had words of wisdom to share with them. Come on, first period starts in a few minutes" Luke said and we all quickly finished storing our gear into our lockers before we all headed off to class as a small group, though giving pause in front of the girls' oteari to allow Isamu to wash herself up.

As we all took our seats, the sensei walked into the class and began writing her name on the board, though Ami and Isamu sent one another shocked looks before turning back to stare at her.

"Ms. Keane, I thought you were teaching at Pokey Oaks" spoke up Ami in surprise when the sensei turned to face the class.

"I was, but I recently went back to school myself and earned a certificate to teach high school. Now if you would all pull out your Grammar books we'll get started" Ms. Keane announced and I nervously pulled out my book.

I quickly remembered another reason I felt uncomfortable with this foreign exchange student program: I speak English rather well, but I can't read it very well, usually only understanding nani I was reading if it was Japanese written in romaji. I stared at the book in front of me and felt like I was reading gibberish as opposed to actual words.

"Momoko-chan, would you mind coming up here for a moment?" requested Keane-sensei and I nervously rose up and walked to the sensei's desk, though surprised that she had used an honorific; to my surprise, I noticed Luke tense up as thought to make an attack upon the teacher.

"Relax, Luke, Ms. Keane is one of the friendliest teachers I've ever met" Ami whispered to him.

"My itoko in Nihon told me all about your coming" she told me as I approached her desk and she handed me a Japanese grammar book with a smile; Luke relaxed instantly.

"Arigato, Keane-sensei, but how will you be able to grade my papers?" I asked of her quietly and appreciatively.

"You know how to write in romaji, correct? I can understand Nihon-go as long as it is written in romaji" she told me and I smiled to her in appreciation.

I returned to my desk and got right to work, quickly and comfortably completing the assignment in plenty of time. Once the sensei-tachi and I all had our understandings, things began to go pretty smoothly, except math class which was never one of my better subjects, though I was pleased to see that there was iie difference between Japanese and English math.

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><p><strong>Carly: So it would seem that Momoko's first day of school has started off on a predominantly fine note, just a bad run-in with the Rowdyruff Boys.<strong>

**TCW: True, and for the record, romaji is the term used for Japanese written phonetically. Also, to the Japanese, they call their country, Nihon, and the language is called Nihon-go.**

**Carly: Duly noted. So what's in store for the next chapter?**

**Next time…**

**Momoko: I need to monitor which language I'm speaking around some people, especially Princess.**

**Luke: And Princess learns a valuable lesson in the field of Japanese.**

**TCW: All this and more coming soon!**

**Carly and Momoko: But leave us a nice review, onegai!**


	5. Princess Problems

**Domo arigato gozaimashita (Thank you very much) for all of your reviews, friends! And next, Momoko has a couple of bad run-ins with another certain enemy…**

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><p><strong>Princess Problems<strong>

I had very little trouble with any of the sensei-tachi or my fellow students till Physical Education class. The coach had us do a mile run, which Luke, Ami, and Isamu were decent enough to keep pace with me instead of running at their full clip.

Later, in the girls' locker room/shower, I would meet my next opposition. I had just stepped out of the shower and was sitting on a bench resting and cooling off in front of a floor fan when this girl with curly red hair approached and gave me a dirty look.

"And just what do you think you are doing?" she asked of me in a cocky attitude.

"Resting while I wait for Isamu and Ami to finish their showers" I replied without even giving the girl a passing glance.

"Yeah, well you're in my spot, now either move along or I'll have you moved" the girl threatened me and I glanced up at her in annoyance.

Normally I would have given her a piece of my mind, but I decided that she was not worth the effort as I told her, "Gomen nasai, one of the boards has a crack in it anyway."

I figured myself to be in the clear, but before I could even reach my locker to begin getting dressed, the red head and two other girls grabbed a hold of me and dragged me out of the room to throw me into the boy's locker room/shower, making sure to grab the towel I had been wearing off of me. I then heard the girl shout through the door, "Maybe this will teach you not to cuss at me in whatever language it is you speak!"

"But I didn't cuss at you" I called back in reply when I realized that some twenty boys had turned to look at me and many of them began to grin at me as illicit thoughts ran through their minds. I dropped to the floor and curled up as tight as I could as a few of the boys began to approach me.

"The first one that touches her gets their hand chopped off!" threatened a familiar voice, causing them to cringe in fear and return to their lockers to finish getting dressed.

Luke, half-dressed already, came up to me and knelt down to place a gentle hand upon my shoulder as he handed me a towel to cover myself with. I took the towel and wrapped it tightly around me as Luke stood in front of me to keep the other guys from seeing.

"Close your eyes and follow me" Luke then instructed as he took my hand and, doing as he had instructed, led me to the back of the locker room where his own locker stood open.

"Luke, you know the rules: no girls are allowed in the men's locker room" rebuked the coach as he came out of his office.

"Yeah, well try telling that to whoever it was that shoved her in here" Luke replied as he finished getting dressed.

The coach noted my condition and quickly looked up to see a large group of guys peeking around the corner in hopes of getting another glance at me.

"Get to class" shouted the coach and the boys all took off; though whether because the coach had shouted for them to do so or because Luke had unsheathed his claw-blades, I would never really know.

As the coach left the room to make sure all of the other boys had made good use of the exit, Luke asked of me with compassion in his voice, "Would you like to talk about it?"

"I was sitting on a bench waiting for your shimai-tachi to finish their showers when this other girl with curly red hair told me that I was in her place and ordered me to move on. I was too tired to argue with her and excused myself, telling her that there was a crack in the bench anyway. She and a couple of her friends threw me in here and then she yelled that maybe this would teach me not to cuss at her in Nihon-go, but I didn't cuss at her; I don't even like swearing unless I'm scared, angry, or desperate" I replied in confusion as I wiped a few stray tears from my eyes.

"Luke, your sisters are here to see the two of you" called the coach from the door and Ami and Isamu soon came around the corner carrying my clothes in their arms.

"That Princess Morbucks should be expelled for this" proclaimed Ami in annoyance as she helped me to get dressed.

"Can we just move on to the next class before I get in any more trouble?" I inquired of them as I slid my shoes onto my feet.

"You two go on ahead, I've got something in my shoe that's poking me in the foot" Isamu told us, so Ami and I returned to class together.

Luke's POV

"You don't really have anything in your shoe, do you?" I asked of Isamu once Momoko and Ami were out of hearing range.

"What did you think…of her?" Isamu asked in return.

"I think she needs to learn how to defend herself" I replied with a light blush, which told Isamu the hidden truth.

"We'd better catch up to them or we're going to be late to class" Isamu said quietly.

"Isamu, I don't know her, she's entirely out of her element, and…I still feel like I'm being disloyal to Blossom whenever I even look at another girl" I confessed to her before catching up with Ami and Momoko as we entered the classroom.

Momoko's POV

Day two and once I again I ran into Morbucks-san, this time in the library, as I sat alone at a table while waiting for Ami and Isamu to return.

"You're at my table" the girl sneered at me and I glanced up from the book I had been reading, one that I had brought with me from home.

"Gomen nasai, I was just keeping it warm for you" I said cordially as I rose up and moved on to a different table.

I soon found myself flanked by Morbucks-san's companions as she glared at me from across the table. I looked up at them in puzzlement when the two strong-arm girls grabbed a hold of me violently and pinned my shoulders to the table.

"I do not appreciate being cussed at in some foreign language, something you obviously haven't figured out since yesterday" Morbucks-san told me as she removed a pair of scissors from her pocket while one of the other girls drew my ponytail up and held it taut.

"No, please, no" I begged in English as I quickly understood the girl's intent: she was going to cut my pony tail off.

"You should have thought about that sooner" Morbucks-san snidely replied as she made ready to start cutting, unaware that Luke was rapidly approaching from behind.

"'Gomen nasai' means 'I'm sorry' in Japanese, bitch" Luke informed her as he grabbed hold of her wrist, pulled her away from me, and held it tightly.

"Hey, OW, you're hurting my wrist" Morbucks-san pleaded of Luke with a grimace of pain.

"And you're pestering my friend who is merely trying to read her book" Luke glared down at her.

"Go- Go men, whatever it was you said, I didn't know she was your friend; we'll leave her alone from now on" promised Morbucks-san, wincing in pain as Luke slowly tightened his grasp on her wrist.

"You'd better or next time I won't be so forgiving" Luke threatened as he released her to run off while clutching her wrist in her other hand and with her companions in pursuit.

"Domo arigato gozaimashita" I told Luke with a blush and he turned to look at his shimai-tachi who were approaching.

"Doitashimashite" he replied, though he seemed to refuse to meet my eyes, before turning and leaving the library. I may be mistaken, but I thought I saw him blushing when he looked away from me.

"I swear he needs to learn to let go and move on. Blossom's dead and nothing can bring her back" Isamu commented with a slight puff in her cheeks and I glanced up at her in wonderment.

"But Isamu, it was only a little over three months ago. We were able to move on because of him, but for Luke it was as though he lost a part of himself" Ami said in Luke's defense as she sat down to my right.

"Yes, but every time he sees another girl that he finds attractive, he forces himself to remember Blossom's death and of their relationship. Luke's refusing to let himself move on" Isamu told her with a sigh as she sat down across from me.

"I've never seen him looking at any other girls" Ami argued in Luke's defense.

"I have" Isamu replied simply.

"Really, who is it, anyone we know?" Ami asked, sounding excited.

Isamu made iie reply, but I heard Ami gasp in surprise so I looked up to see nani was going on. Isamu was just staring at me as she cupped her chin in one hand, her fingers against her cheek, with her elbow on the table. I had a guess as to whom she was referring to, but decided to play innocent and sent her a look of naiveté, though the blush in my cheeks was already confirming her suspicions.

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><p><strong>Carly: Hmm, you changed up some of this.<strong>

**TCW: Hai, well as I've said, I'm trying to clean up some of the content. And if you thought this one was changed, just wait until you see the next chapter.**

**Carly: I can't wait!**

**Next time…**

**Momoko: After another harrowing experience, I learn that someone cares more about me than he could ever have imagined.**

**TCW: All this and more, coming soon!**

**Carly and Momoko: So leave us some nice reviews, onegai!**


	6. Bad Day

**Arigato for the great reviews, all! And next Momoko has yet another…**

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><p><strong>Bad Day<strong>

The next day in art class, I was beckoned by the sensei to show everyone how to do calligraphy and while most found it quite fascinating, there were those few that found it pointless and annoying. Overall, though, the rest of the week proved uneventful and I was earning high marks with the majority of my fellow students, my sensei-tachi, and even kouchou-sensei.

I was helping to clean up the cafeteria after lunch when I was requested to retrieve a box of ice cream treats from the freezer as a reward to those students who helped with the cleanup. Nodding my head, I headed for the large, walk-in freezer and had to give a hard yank to open the door after clicking the light on. However, when I entered, someone slammed the door shut behind me and locked the door as I made a grab for the inside handle and soon the light clicked off.

I began to pound and beat on the door, but it was a good four inches thick, solid, and well insulated; "TASUKE!" I screamed out in a panic as I began shivering; I wouldn't last very long in here.

Blade's POV

I had been called out to handle a monster attack in the middle of the city and as I was in a heated battle with a giant puffer fish, I felt a jolt shoot through me: Momoko was in trouble. Pulling back my weapon, I quickly dispensed of the creature, dropped its remains off at a Japanese restaurant while leave an address for them to mail the check for the meat to, and took off like lightning to return to school, even forgoing with changing back to my normal street clothes as I entered the building and quickly approached the cafeteria.

"Blade, come quick; someone locked the freezer door and broke the key off in the lock with Momoko inside!" called Principal Rosa with a look of deep concern in her eyes.

Forgoing with the usual pleasantries, I quickly used my sword to pierce through the door, lock and all. Removing it, I quickly yanked the door open and ran inside to find Momoko on the floor with frost in her hair. Picking her up in my arms, I dashed her out of the freezer and over towards the ovens and used some of my own energies to warm her.

Ami's POV

I had known of Blade having some unique abilities powered by solar energy and now stood nearby watching as he began glowing yellow with the heat of the sun's energy and soon spread it to Momoko, who awoke with a sneeze, and curled up tighter against Blade for a bit more warmth.

"Bless you, Momoko" I said quietly and she turned to smile at me in appreciation before trying to get down out of Blade's arms.

Momoko's POV

I stepped down from Blade's arms and started to walk away when I dropped to my knees like a ton of bricks and began crying as I felt that this whole town hated me for some reason or another.

"Come on, let me take you home" he offered softly as he picked me up off of the ground and leapt into the air to take flight.

I must have cried myself to sleep while being carried by Blade because when I awoke, I was lying on my bed and almost two hours had passed. I looked down to find Blade, now as Luke, dozing on the floor with his arms crossed as he sat propped up against my bed.

I decided not to bother him and quietly gathered a change of clothes to put on after I took a shower. I had finished washing myself and just stood in the water stream as the vivid memories came flooding back to me; I had hoped that it had all been a bad nightmare.

I couldn't help myself; I just began crying all over again when a compassionate voice called in through the door, "Are you alright, Momoko-chan?"

I turned the water off and grabbed a hold of my towels, binding my hair in one and wrapping the other around me before calling, "Come in."

Luke, now wearing his own pajamas cautiously poked his head into the furoba and I beckoned him entrance. He entered and closed the door behind him as he wrapped his arms around me and I began crying into his chest.

"That's right let it all out" he murmured to me and I acquiesced, crying even heavier as we held onto each other, though the water that my towel was absorbing off of me was now being absorbed by Luke's pajamas.

Having been holding one hand onto my towel while wrapping the other around him, I thought to fully embrace him and, albeit unintentionally, dropped my towel onto the floor.

Sensing Luke's sudden confliction, I told him, "Hold me, don't touch me, just, hold me."

I knew that this had to be a conflicting request to make of him, but Luke obliged my request as he clutched me to him. He surprised me, despite my nakedness in his arms he showed iie signs of being affected by my condition. I looked up into his eyes and he smiled down at me in a comforting manner. I rose up on my toes and kissed him as he, slowly, kissed me back.

"I hope today's incident doesn't deter you from continuing to accompany us in school" Luke told me as he knelt down and wrapped my towel around my torso, though looking me in the eyes rather than at my body.

"To be honest, I had been thinking of sending a letter to the school requesting a return home, but after now, I don't want to leave" I told him as I stared down at my bare feet.

Picking up another towel, Luke began to dry my legs, arms, hands, and feet off before rising up to massage the towel that was wrapped around me to dry the rest of me off, and being careful not to go near my personal areas. I then sat down upon the lid of the benki and Luke slipped my socks onto my feet followed by helping me to step into my underpants and pajama bottoms, looking away and down as I pulled them up. Luke then picked my shirt up and helped me to slip it on before picking up my bra and holding it out to me to put it on and again averting his gaze.

I kept a close eye on Luke's face during this and the whole time, he seemed to be in a conflict with himself. Was he attracted to me but refusing to let it show? And if so, was it because he was afraid of turning me off or because he was still in love with Blossom and felt that he was being disloyal to her? I decided not to ask and let the silence between us continue.

We then left the furoba in silence and walked side-by-side up the stairs to our rooms.

"Oyasumi nasai, Luke-kun" I said to Luke as I stopped in front of my door.

"Oyasumi to amai yume, Momoko-chan" Luke replied as he kissed me on the cheek and left for his own room.

I sat down upon my bed and quietly mulled over the evening's events as I picked up a book I never noticed before. I opened the book without much thinking and began reading when my eyes shot open as I realized nani I had picked up: it was one of Blossom's diaries.

I ran out of my room and knocked on Ami's bedroom door; she came to her door while rubbing sleep from her eyes and looked at me in questioning as I told her, "Meet me in my room, I'm going to wake Isamu."

"Can't it wait till morning?" she inquired of me in protest.

I held up the book I had found and her eyes shot open in surprise as I knocked on Isamu's door. She came to the door with annoyance in her face until I showed her the book and I beckoned her to my room.

"Do you realize what you've found, Momoko; this was Blossom's last diary" Ami said in a whispered voice.

"Yeah, all of her others are now owned by Luke and no one has even seen this one, though we knew she kept it" Isamu added in a murmured voice so as not to disturb anyone else in the house.

"I know and…I've accidentally read a few passages that she had written. I didn't know nani it was, honest" I confessed to them nervously.

"I have an idea! Let's meet in the tree house tomorrow after Luke leaves on patrol and read it together" offered Ami excitedly.

"Alright, but whatever we learn stays between us. Who knows what kind of erotic information could be found in that book?" Isamu said and we all agreed to this.

Unbeknownst to us, Luke overheard our conversation and was already making plans of his own.

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><p><strong>Carly: Okay, so you did indeed get rid of the original unsavory scene and replaced it nice, though I'm still not too sure about the scene in the bathroom.<strong>

**TCW: Sorry, but I wanted to keep the whole growing romance that Luke seems to be trying his best, though epically failing, to resist.**

**Carly: Good point and you did have it so that nothing really occurred between them. So I can only imagine what the next chapter holds.**

**Next time…**

**Momoko: The girls and I learn of Blossom's last few months and of her and Luke's former relationship.**

**Luke: And I finally confess to both Blossom and myself some hidden feelings of my own.**

**TCW: All this and more coming soon!**

**Carly and Momoko: Meanwhile, leave us some nice reviews!**


	7. Blossom's Secrets

**Arigato for the great reviews thus far! For this next chapter, a couple of notes: First, the screen names are, to my knowledge, completely fictional and do not apply to either myself or my co-author, cakedecorator. Second, all italicized sections are voice-overs being done by Blossom herself. Third, some of the content is quite suggestive, but I have kept it as clean as possible so as to maintain the 'T' rating. I now return you to our regularly scheduled story...**

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><p><strong>Blossom's Secrets<strong>

The night before, I linked up with Kaarii via instant messaging on my computer and inquired as to whether or not it was right for us to read Blossom's diary.

**Sweet/Sassy:** Hey, Momoko-chan! How's life in America treating you?

**Fiery/Hot:** Rough, but I've got a different problem that I was hoping to talk to you about.

**Sweet/Sassy:** Nani is on your mind?

**Fiery/Hot:** Okay, situation is that the girls, with whom I am staying, as you already know, had lost their oneesan in death. She had kept a bunch of diaries, but her last one was lost. I recently found and showed it to her shimai-tachi and they both want to read the contents of it in hopes of finding out the identity of their oneesan's murderer and I've been asked to join them. I know that this may be an invasion of their oneesan's, and more than likely even their oniisan's, privacy so nani should I do?

**Sweet/Sassy:** Well, given circumstances and the law, it should be immediately given over to their oniisan. I mean, one can go to jail for invasion of privacy.

**Fiery/Hot:** That's nani I thought too, but then the girls are Blossom's (the dead girl) shimai-tachi.

**Sweet/Sassy:** You do have a point there…I say let them make the call. If they're in the wrong, then their oniisan will deal with them accordingly and you can just say that you were an innocent bystander.

**Fiery/Hot:** Arigato. It's getting late here; time to turn in for the night, oyasumi nasai.

**Sweet/Sassy:** Oyasumi nasai.

***Fiery/Hot has logged off***

***Sweet/Sassy has logged off***

I then deleted my search history, signed off, and shut down my computer. Turning to my bed, I slid in between the sheets and dreamed of being with my friends back home in Tokyo.

The following morning, the girls and I patiently waited until Luke had left for his morning patrol and headed for the tree house, as per our agreement, only to find the entrance closed and locked; Luke was the only one with the key.

"Great now what do we do?" asked Isamu annoyed once we were all back down on the ground.

I turned and whispered into Ami's ear and then did the same with Isamu and we agreed to the new location: Ami's room.

We sat down on Ami's bed, Ami in the middle, Isamu to her left, and I sat on her right, as we had chosen her to do the reading.

"Just so we're in agreement: I'm just an innocent bystander in this" I told the girls, albeit nervously.

"Concerned that if Luke should find out about this that we may all get a spanking or something?" Isamu asked smartly with a slight smile and I nodded my head.

"Don't worry, Momoko; we'll make sure that you remain as though a fly on the wall" Ami told me with a gentle smile and I felt relieved at this.

Blade's POV

I hovered just below the window frame so as to remain unseen but could still hear everything.

'I'll hold nothing against you, Momoko-chan' I thought to myself.

Ami's POV

"I'll dispense with the 'Dear Diary' parts as they're rather pointless. Let's see, first entry: _My sisters and I have been having trouble with the Rowdyruff Boys and I have become fearful of their overpowering us. I must find some way of creating a Powerpuff Boy to help out and watch over us. Only question now is: How? I'll need to do some research on this._

"Second entry: _After much research on the internet, I have come across the old nursery rhymes of the creation of little girls and boys. According to research, snips, snails, and puppy-dog tails are what little boys are made of. I have acquired many of the necessary ingredients; the snails I purchased at an aquarium center; the puppy tail from a veterinarian's office; the Chemical-X from the Professor, though he has no knowledge of it; and am now about to do something which I find the most distasteful: I will _snip_ my hair. Man, that was the most _awful _thing I have ever done, but if it proves effective then it shall be worth my emotional pain._

"Third entry_: I've succeeded in getting the family out of the house for a while and am now in the Professor's lab getting ready to begin my own experiment of creating the perfect little boy. Following the Professor's guidelines for when he created me and my sisters, I am now adding in a minute amount of Chemical-X to the mixture. Keep your fingers crossed. Ow, that hurt! But I was successful…to a degree. Where there were three of us there is only one of him and he really seems to have some unusual abilities. Like my sisters and I he shares many of the same basic abilities, but he also has an uncanny ability with a sword to say little for the three blades that come from the backs of his hands, I have named him Luke, but more importantly he is currently the same age as me. Theory: I used snips of my own hair, this must have somehow made him the same age as us, and with my vast intelligence, is already at our current level of education. Also, it turns out that instead of using Chemical-X, I accidentally used the Chemical-Z that the Professor's cousin from Japan had sent him._

"Fourth entry: _Okay, so I can either lie, telling the Professor that Luke is his own creation but does not remember, or I am in deep trouble; I'll lie. Damn, I'm too late; the Professor already discovered the truth and is summoning me down to the living room. _

_Wow, talk about protective! Luke demonstrated some of his new abilities to us and they are anything but what I expected._

_Just as the Professor was about to begin my punishment of twenty strikes across my bared backside with his belt, Luke called out, "_Solar Blade_" and took on a whole new persona! He had on what I can only imagine to be a Powerpuff Boy Z uniform in black and had a buster sword on his belt, which he rapidly drew and threatened to use on the Professor if he should cause me harm. The Professor gave in, but now I'm grounded, under house arrest in my room, for the next month, but at least Luke/Blade is willing to stick around and keep me company._

"Fifth entry:_ Luke is my greatest dream that has come true. He's helpful to my sisters, he protects them from those stronger than us, and…quite unexpectedly…I am falling in love with him._

"Sixth entry: _School has begun once again and Luke has shown himself to be just what I had wanted the most: Brick's, I mean, the Rowdyruff Boys' worst nightmare. Brick had decided to once again force himself upon me but Luke throttled him in the mouth. Brick jumped back up to have a go at Luke but quickly gave pause when he saw Luke's claw-blades; the school administrators said he couldn't bring his sword to school but they couldn't do a thing about his claws as they are part of him. I must remember to thank the guy at the mall for the weapons that he sold me and that I added to the concoction to create Luke."_

"There are hit-and-miss entries until winter vacation. And the entries that are given just list stuff about school. Oh man, did she have to include the part with my first period; talk about your privacy violations!" Ami said in disgust while blushing as she fingered through the pages till the next full listing of entries while Isamu and I stifled our laughter.

"Here we go: _I have been searching for the suspects who committed the Christmas Eve Massacre for quite some time now. That horrible sight still haunts me at night: all those beaten, mangled, and shot up bodies of so many innocent people. I know Luke is doing his best to provide us with comfort but I won't rest until I find those responsible for all of those deaths. I have found some clues while searching the site once more: blasts and burn marks that can only be caused by someone with optic lasers like us. Also, when I stopped off at the coroner's office to examine the body of Mojo Jojo, the only victim from the enemy's side, I found a small stab wound, the kind which can only be caused by a pocket knife. I now know who the criminal masterminds are, but I need further proof before I can confront them._

"Next entry: _I've been watching and observing the way my sisters are responding to Luke. The other night, when instructed to take our baths and/or showers, Buttercup put up the usual protest. 'You will go take a bath or I will have Luke drag you up there, strip you, and scrub you down himself' the Professor threatened and Buttercup's face fell as her cheeks turned bright red. Luke turned and grinned at her viciously and she shot off down the hall to the bathroom to get her bath over and done with. _

_Bubbles misplaced Octi and Luke helped her to find him, but in a couple of different pieces. Before she could shed a single tear, Luke whipped out a needle and some thread and began sewing Octi back together. To say she was pleased with his work would be an understatement as she hugged Luke tightly for about five minutes straight. _

_As for myself, I must say that I am becoming even more attracted to Luke by the minute. I know to most others this would be considered incest, as he is our brother, but given circumstances and the way we were created…I think we can look past this concept._

"Third entry: _Luke and I have finally decreed our love for one another and have begun to be intimate together. For obvious reasons, though, we both refuse to have sex together, but instead settle for touching each other in intimate locations. Our first time was when I decided to sneak into the shower with him and as we were washing ourselves, I insisted that he explore me and he agreed while we kissed each other deeply._

"Fourth entry: _The Professor and my sisters left early this morning to go to the amusement park, but I had opted to sleep in and so Luke agreed to stay behind to look out for me. As soon as they were gone I exited my room, completely naked, and when Luke saw me, scooped me up in his arms to carry me to his room. Once he laid me upon his bed, he too undressed and we climbed into his bed together to touch, kiss, and fondle each other till we went to sleep holding onto one another."_

"Is it me or is it getting hot in here?" Isamu asked as she clicked Ami's ceiling fan on.

"That's it again for a while till after graduation and then it picks up again: _I finally have all the proof and information I need to confront Brick and his gang, but before I go there is one thing I must take care of first. I watched as Luke was teaching Ami how to ride her new bike. The Professor isn't home, I don't know where Isamu is, and I'm getting bored, so I am going to Luke's room to pleasure myself on his bed. I do hope he sees the small wet spots on his bed and comes looking for me as I am now sitting, undressed, on my bed and have a strong want of him._

"We should rate this diary of Blossom's PG-13 or higher" Isamu noted to us.

"Next entry_: Well, tomorrow I will confront Brick with my information, but first I must do the one thing that will keep Brick from raping me before killing me: I must lose my virginity to another and I can't think of a better person than Luke. _

_The Professor is taking the girls to the mall for some shopping, leaving me and Luke alone again. I noticed Luke at his desk working on his computer, studying Japanese, and slowly approached him to remove his shirt which he did not fight me in doing. I then began to run my fingernails over his bare skin and, after some further manipulating, got him completely undressed. I then told him that either he was to take me or I was going to take him. He looked at me kind of funny and so I made ready to do him. He turned me over and we kissed and as he claimed me. I felt the pain and sheer joy of the moment despite the tears I was shedding and urged him on until be both reach our climax. I then turned him over and claimed him. We had to have tried every position known before we fell to the bed with exhaustion. I joked around with him, evading the truth, but deep down I knew that as long as I had lost my virginity then Brick would find no point in publicly humiliating me with rape._

"Final entry: _This may be my final entry and so I will take the opportune time to fill out my will which is located in the back of this book. Let's see, I left my plush toys to Bubbles and my radio and sports stuff to Buttercup. To Luke: if you find this Luke, I leave all of my diaries and my everlasting love to you, but in so doing, I ask that you let me go and find someone else to wrap your arms around and to give part of your heart to. I know you will always love me and I feel the same of you, part of me will always remain in your heart, but don't let emptiness fill and dominate the rest of it; otherwise, what was the point of our love? _

_At this I will end this entry as I must get on my way. If I die today, avenge me Luke, Bubbles, and Buttercup and know that I will always love you even in the next realm. Love to you all – Blossom"_

Ami closed the journal and both she and Isamu embraced each other as they cried for their sister.

Blade's POV

"I have already found someone, Blossom; but I can't tell her until after I avenge you" I whispered aloud as the tears streaked down my cheeks.

Momoko's POV

I looked down at the floor with tears in my own eyes as I remembered my last words to my sister were anything but kind: 'Stay out of my room and my stuff, Kuriko, or I will give you such a fierce spanking when I get home you won't be able to sit for a week!'

I had threatened her and all she did was to silently nod her head in understanding. At the time, I had missed the look in her eyes, but as I remembered back to that day, there were tears of love, fear, and happiness for me, but sadness because I was leaving for two years.

I left out of Ami's room and returned to my own where I sat down at my computer to type an email to Kuriko. I told her of how I was getting along with my temporary family, nani school was like, and I especially told her of how much I loved her, repeating this almost every other paragraph to make sure she understood and even gave her permission to go into my room and to do whatever she wished in there. I then told her of how I came to understand just nani it meant to be a family and that I apologized for yelling at her so much. After I re-read my email, I clicked 'Send' and after closing my computer down, I went to lie on my bed and cried into my pillow.

Later that night, Ami gave Blossom's last journal over to Luke as she and Isamu wrapped their arms around him and he embraced both of them in return. I began to head up the stairs to return to my room when I noticed Luke looking up at me with a mixture of emotions in his eyes, but I was too tired to read all of them.

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><p><strong>Carly: You made some minor edits and additions to this chapter.<strong>

**TCW: True, but then why mess with it when it was already good unless you only intend to improve it?**

**Carly: Good point. So what's in store for the next chapter?**

**Next time…**

**Momoko: I decide to see nani I can do to help Blade to finish a mission early.**

**Blade: I get to see another side to Momoko and decide to let her know how I really feel about her.**

**TCW: All this and more coming soon!**

**Carly and Momoko: Just make sure to leave us some nice reviews in the meantime.**


	8. Momoko's Secret Revealed

**I wish to offer many thanks for the reviews you all have left me thus far. It really does help me to want to continue writing by knowing that there are those of you out there who want me to continue. Alternate title for this next chapter would be: 'Solar Blade meets Hyper Blossom', enjoy!**

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><p><strong>Momoko's Secret Revealed<strong>

The next day we were supposed to go shopping for winter clothes, but Luke was called away to handle some trouble in the city.

"You girls stay here where it's safe and I'll be back to take you all shopping as soon as possible" Luke instructed his shimai-tachi before transforming and taking off.

"There he goes again" Isamu sighed in annoyance.

"Yeah, well, you know what will happen if we disobey him" Ami sighed in disappointment.

"Yeah, grounded for a week and that's if we're lucky enough _not_ to be placed over his knee first," Isamu replied with a huff while subconsciously rubbing her o-shiri; obviously the receiver of said punishment in the past.

I snuck up to my room and pulled out my communicator, held my right hand up in the air as a red ring formed on my middle finger, and called out as I waved the ring over my communicator, "Hyper Blossom." My transformation quickly finished in a dance-like performance, I stopped to relish the feeling of being back in my Powerpuff Girl Z uniform.

I then flew out of my window and followed after him, keeping a safe distance between us so as not to be seen. I then stopped to watch as Blade engaged a giant lizard with enormous teeth and sharp lobster claws that it kept snapping at him.

Blade slashed and stabbed at the monster with his sword, but the creature kept blocking his attacks when it turned around and slapped him down with its tail. The monster then grabbed hold of Blade in one of its claws and brought him up to attempt to bite his head off.

"Spinning Yo-yo" I called out as I wrapped my yo-yo around the beast's mouth and held it closed.

The monster then released Blade to try attacking me, but its arms were too short to reach its nose, where I stood holding tightly to my yo-yo to keep its mouth shut. Blade then retrieved his sword and decapitated the monster with one quick swipe and I released my yo-yo from the creature's mouth to let its head fall to the ground along with the rest of the body.

I breathed a sigh of relief only to turn and see Blade glaring up at me in anger. The echoes of Isamu's and Ami's conversation filled my ears so I decided to beat a hasty retreat before he could catch me and put me over his knee.

I flew off at my best speed, panic on my face as I was concerned about the beating I would receive when Blade came up behind me, grabbed a hold of my arms and, pulling them back, brought me to a halt.

"Sumimasen; I was only trying to help!" I told him in concern of nani was to come.

"A Powerpuff Girl Z…why didn't you ever tell me you were one of them?" Blade asked of me in anger.

"We were instructed to keep it a secret" I confessed to him in a whimper.

He released me and I slowly turned around to face him; his arms were crossed, he held an angry look on his face and his eyes were closed, when he suddenly burst out laughing. I looked at him in total confusion when he looked at me and soon regained his composure while still smiling at me.

"Come on, let's go home" Blade said as he took my hand into his and we flew off.

We flew in through my window and stopped to look at each other when Blade pulled me to him and hugged me. I hugged him back, feeling relieved, when he sat down upon my bed and pulled me down across his lap. I braced for a spanking, but he did not hit me, instead he simply looked a bit off.

"Never mind, iie sense spanking you if the only way to do so is to render the rest of you naked" he said as he stood me back up and looked to my door in frustration.

"I don't see why I should be spanked at all" I said to him.

"Because you could've been hurt and you are my responsibility" he replied.

"But I used to do stuff like that all of the time back home in Tokyo" I insisted, trying to get him to see my side.

"I know, but as long as you are here in America, I am responsible for your safety. If anything happens to you, I have to face the entire U.N. and the whole country of Nihon" he returned and I began to see his point of view as he made ready to leave.

"Wait a minute. Onegai, sit down" I told him and he returned to sit on the side of my bed.

I then changed back into my street clothes and removed my belt and shorts letting them fall to the floor and laid back down across his lap much to his surprise.

"Onegai, give me nani I deserve for my willful disobedience" I told him silently as I clutched my pillow to my chest.

"I don't do this out of anger, but because I love you" Luke said, surprising me, as he made ready and gave me twenty slaps to my backside.

I sniffed once he had finished and turned look up at him before replying, "Arigato, I love you too."

He then picked me up and laid me down upon my bed as he began kissing me. I kissed him back and soon my shirt vanished so that I now lay before him in my lingerie as he kept kissing me and caressing my shoulders with one hand while running his other through my hair. I pulled his shirt off of him as we continued kissing, raking my nails across the bare skin of his back.

"Nani did you stop for?" I begged of him when we separated to catch our breaths.

"Gomen, but I promised to take you and the girls shopping for winter wear and it's already almost lunch time" he told me with a smile as he returned my clothes to me, picked up his own shirt and, after putting it on, left out my bedroom door.

I sighed and slowly began to get dressed. I had just finished clipping my transformation belt around my waist when there was a knock on my door.

"Come in" I called as I picked my shoes up and sat down upon my bed to put them on.

"I thought I noticed an unusual glow in Luke's eyes" noted Isamu as she slid into my room and now stood in front of me and noticing that I had unintentionally put my shirt on backwards.

"We were just kissing is all" I told her with a blush while adjusting my shirt.

"Did he also give you a spanking? I saw you leave out of your window earlier while wearing that Powerpuff Girl Z uniform" Isamu first asked of me and, when I sent her a questioning look, explained herself.

"Hai, then we kind of made love to one another, though, I believe he was thinking of more of Blossom than of me" I replied in a soft, disappointed voice.

"No, if he had been thinking of her, he wouldn't have looked so pleased" Isamu told me as she wrapped her arms around me and set her chin upon my shoulder.

"Well, we've still got some shopping to do, so let's get out here" I offered her and she nodded her head in agreement.

Once at the department store, the girls and I went to look for winter coats and clothes, while Luke did the same. I was looking at some pink thermal underwear with little red flowers all over when Luke quietly came up behind me.

"Those would look real pretty on you" he said with a smile and I blushed in return.

"So have you two finished your shopping yet?" Ami asked of us and we quickly regained our composure.

"Well, I have found a nice new black leather jacket, some black jeans, a few pairs of grey shirts, and black thermals. How about you, Momoko-chan, did you find everything?" Luke asked of me quite innocently.

"Hai, I was just looking at these thermals, but otherwise am finished with my shopping" I replied and quickly added the packages in my hands to my basket.

"I think I've found everything, except some thermals, but I can't find anything I like…at least not until now" Isamu replied as she looked at the green sets I was now pointing too.

"Well, I'm done" Ami announced and we all were soon heading for the checkout counter.

I was just about to pay for my things when Luke announced, "All of this is together on the same bill, ma'am."

"You don't have to" I protested.

"I know, but I want to" he told me and gave me a quick peck on the lips, much to the cashier's and his shimai-tachi's enjoyment.

"Well, if you put it that way" I replied and kissed him back as everyone else began giggling at us.

We were driving home when Luke pulled into a graveyard and stopped to pay his respects to one particular grave, though the girls and I remained in the car.

Luke's POV

I approached a heart-shaped head stone with 'Blossom Utonium – Loving daughter and sister' inscribed on it and cleared the autumn leaves from the site before laying a dozen roses before the stone.

"Gomen nasai for not visiting in a while, Blossom-chan; I've been so tied up with protecting the city, our shimai-tachi, and now Momoko-chan. Speaking of whom, you told me to find another to wrap my arms around and to give my heart to and, well, I though you should know that I've fallen in love with Momoko. If all goes well, after High School, I intend to propose to her. A part of my heart will always belong to you, Blossom-chan, but now, I want to fill the void that losing you had created with her. I've got to go, now; I just wanted to let you know first."

I then turned away and returned to the car.

Momoko's POV

Once he returned to the car, we drove home in silence; I had already guessed whose grave he had visited but also had the sense to remain quiet about it.

It was because of this that it surprised me when Luke entered my room and wrapped his arms around me while I was hanging my new shirts and coat up in the closet. He kissed me on the neck and, as I pulled down one sleeve of my shirt, my shoulder. I then shed my shirt entirely and as he began to rub by bare stomach, I took hold of his hand and directed it down my shorts, to which he showed iie resistance though refrained from touching me anywhere personal.

"I'm thinking of taking a shower, would you care to join me?" Luke whispered into my ear and I nodded my head in agreement. We then snuck out of my room and ran to the furoba, hand-in-hand, excitedly.

It was a pleasant and erotic experience that we thoroughly enjoyed, but we made sure to abstain from touching each other in any intimate locations. We then retreated to my room where we had stored our changes of clothes for the night. It was our full intent to change into pajamas, but instead, we fell into my bed and curled up together to fall asleep in each other's arms as soon as our heads touched the pillows while only in our new thermal undergarments.

It snowed quite heavily that night, so early the next morning we slipped into our thermals and winter clothes before heading outside to shovel off the sidewalk and driveway.

"You don't have to do this" he told me as we stepped outside into the bitterly cold air; it had to be about 20 below with the wind-chill.

"Hai, I know; but I want to help" I replied despite shivering as the winds calmed down.

At one point, I stopped, picked up a snowball, and pitched it at Luke, smacking him right in the back of the head. He turned and looked at me in an off manner and I just giggled at him until he picked up a snowball and threw it at me, striking me in the chest. He grinned mischievously at me and we quickly began having a snowball fight, without noticing Ami, Isamu, and Utonium-san watching us from the window and smiling at the two of us as we pelted each other with snowballs until we collapsed into the snow together, laughing quite hard. We finished playing in the snow and got back to work, finishing by mid-morning.

We returned inside and were offered steaming cups of tea, which we gratefully accepted.

"Well, it sure looked like you two were having a good time" Isamu proclaimed with a smile.

"Just getting rid of some excess energy" Luke replied simply, though there was a shiver in his voice.

Unfortunately, for all the fun we had in the snow, I became very sick.

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><p><strong>Carly: Not too sick I hope. By the way, you did a nice job on cleaning up this chapter, TCW-kun.<strong>

**TCW: Domo arigato.**

**Carly: Doitashimashite. So what's in store for the next chapter?**

**Next time…**

**Ami: Momoko's sick!**

**Isamu: Who's going to take care of her, neither of us has any experience!**

**TCW: Find out who and how, next time!**

**Carly and Momoko: But until then, leave us some nice reviews, onegai.**


	9. Sick!

**Arigato for all of the encouraging reviews, my friends. And now let us join Luke and the others as they take care of Momoko when she falls…**

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><p><strong>Sick!<strong>

I woke up the next morning, feeling an ache running through my body, my head felt like it weighted a ton, and I was burning up with a fever. Try as I might to get out of bed, I just fell back against my pillow, feeling downright miserable.

Someone entered my room, I think it was Ami, and I felt them place a gentle hand upon my forehead before quickly retreating. There was some muffled talking, but I was in such a state that I couldn't discern nani was being said as I lost consciousness.

Luke's POV

I was leaving out of my room when I saw Ami stick her head out of Momoko's door and beckoned to me with a worried look on her face.

"What's wrong?" I asked of her as I brushed a stray strand of hair from her eyes.

"It's Momoko! She's burning up with a fever!" Ami replied anxiously as she stepped aside to allow me entrance to the room to check on Momoko.

I placed my hand upon Momoko's forehead and quickly felt her cheeks before checking her pulse and turned to quietly tell Ami, "Go get the Professor, tell him what's happening, and bring me a bowl of cold water and a couple face cloths."

Ami flew out of the room and I pulled down Momoko's sheet, opened her shirt, and placed my ear over her heart to listen to her heartbeat while wishing I had a stethoscope to use instead; I almost felt like I was violating her since my cheek was pressed upon her breast so I could hear her heart.

"How is she?" the Professor inquired of me as he entered the room.

"Her heartbeat's a little high, she's breathing a bit heavily, and it feels like she has a fever of 100 or better" I replied and, once Ami had returned with the water and cloths, placed one of the cold, damp cloths upon her forehead while she slid a thermometer into her mouth.

Isamu started to enter the room while rubbing sleep from her eyes and sleepily asked, "What's the commotion all about? You woke me up."

"Sorry, Isamu, but Momoko has a bad fever; 102.5 degrees" Ami replied quickly for me as she read the thermometer.

"She also has a slight chill" noted the Professor to us as we saw her shivering.

"There's a slight draft coming through the window" Isamu noted as she picked up Momoko's bath towel, folded it up, and placed it down in front of the window to block out the draft.

"Isamu, go downstairs and make her a cup of green tea and add some orange juice to it; we've got to get some hot fluids into her to warm her" I instructed as I placed another cold cloth upon Momoko's forehead.

We heard the phone ring and Isamu answered it, bringing both the portable phone and Momoko's tea up to the room along with her.

"The mayor's office is on the phone" Isamu told me as she passed me the phone.

"Hello" I said into the phone.

"Luke, we've got an emergency! I can't get my bag of sunflower seeds open" whined the mayor; he'd recently gone back to his sunflower seed kick.

"I'm sorry, Mayor, but I've got a bit of an emergency myself right now" I apologized, hoping he would understand.

"What can possibly more important than getting my seeds open? Now see here, young man, if you wish to continue getting paid for your services you will get over here right now or else" the mayor threatened.

"Really; we'll I'm afraid you're just going to have to find someone else to help you with your damned seeds or shove them up your nose. I've got a sick friend to take care of first" I replied firmly into the phone and quickly hung up before the mayor could continue his whining; nothing would take me away from Momoko's side until she was better.

I took the cup of tea from Isamu and, elevating Momoko's head, slowly poured the tea into her mouth as she instinctively swallowed it down. I then laid her back down and changed the cloth on her forehead once more.

Momoko woke up momentarily and, as she turned to look me in the eyes, complained, "I've got to go to the oteari," and quickly fell back to sleep, accidentally wetting the bed.

"Someone's going to have to change her while someone else changes the sheets" the Professor informed us.

"I don't know anything about changing people" Ami and Isamu said simultaneously and looked up at the Professor in concern.

"Well don't look at me, you girls were at least five when I created you. Luke you're stronger than any of us, and closer to her, why don't you do it?" protested the Professor before turning to me.

"Ami, Isamu, go get a some fabric deodorizer and a change of sheets; Professor, run to the bathroom and retrieve some baby powder for me" I instructed them as I laid down a thick blanket on the floor and pulled a change of clothes out of Momoko's drawers.

By the time everyone had returned, I had Momoko on the floor and trying to prepare myself to exercise strong self-control as I was about to remove her wet pajama bottoms and panties.

"Are you sure you can do this?" the Professor inquired as he placed an encouraging hand upon my shoulder.

"I feel awful…and wet" Momoko complained as she once again regained consciousness and tried to sit up.

"Momoko, you had an accident and we need to change your clothes" I gently said to her as she groggily looked up at me.

"I trust you" she replied and quickly fell back to sleep.

I sent Ami and Isamu to the local drug store to purchase some Depends, as there was iie good way to provide her with a bedpan, and had the Professor finish cleaning and changing the bed.

As soon as the girls got back, I got straight to work while Ami knelt down on the floor beside me to pass me items as I called for them like a surgical team.

"Wipe;" "Wipe;" "Towel;" Towel;" "Powder;" Powder;" "Depend;" "Diaper;" I tried not to laugh at that; "Thermals;" "Long Johns;" she could never bring herself to refer to them as anything else; "Arigato;" "How do you say, 'You're welcome' in Japanese?"

"Doitashimashite" Momoko said as she woke up once more and weakly smiled up at us.

"While at the drug store, I also bought some Tylenol" Isamu said as she passed me the bottle and a small cup of tea.

Helping Momoko to sit up, she managed to swallow down both the pill and tea before losing consciousness once more.

"I don't think those thermals are going to be enough to keep her warm" Isamu noted to us.

"What do you propose we do about that, Professor?" I inquired.

"We could use an electric blanket" offered Ami.

"No, there's too strong of a chance of her getting electrocuted if the Depends fail to work" Isamu pointed out and we went back into thought on the matter.

"There is one option, but you need to be willing to do it, Luke" spoke up the Professor.

"I'll do whatever it takes to make her better" I said determinedly as I held Momoko's hand.

"Isamu, I want you to go to Luke's room and get him a change of clothes" the Professor instructed her when she sent both of us a questioning look; I didn't typically allow them entrance to my room for personal reasons.

I had an idea as to where this was going and nodded my head in agreement with the Professor's plan. Isamu went to my room while I kicked my boots off and began getting undressed.

"I didn't know which you wanted, so I brought a set of pajamas and your thermals" Isamu reported with a slightly sad look on her face; she'd seen the pictures I had of Blossom and her set of diaries, so I gave her a tight, comforting hug.

Taking my flannel pajamas and thermals from her hands, I dressed in the pajamas, and kissed my shimai-tachi oyasumi nasai. I slid into bed with Momoko, wrapping my arms and legs around her to help generate my own body heat into her as the Professor clicked the bedroom lights off and Momoko cuddled up against me to get warmer.

The next morning, the mayor's aide, Ms. Bellum, came over to talk with me. The Professor and my shimai-tachi informed her of nani to expect as they led her up to Momoko's room. Ami opened the door first to see me getting ready to change Momoko.

"Just a moment, please, Ms. Bellum. Luke, Ms. Bellum's here and wishes to speak with you and to check in on Momoko; is it okay if she enters once we finish getting Momoko cleaned up?" Ami inquired in a quiet voice and I nodded my head, as she passed me the items I needed without my asking for them.

"You'll make a great surgical nurse when you grow up" I praised Ami after getting Momoko back into her bed and gave her a quick kiss on the temple before she turned to admit Ms. Bellum.

"How bad is she?" inquired Ms. Bellum quietly as Ami left out of the room and informed her that it was safe to enter.

"Bad; she's still running a fever of 100, she's got a chill, and…" I paused as Momoko woke up momentarily.

"My chest feels funny" Momoko complained and slipped out of consciousness as she quit breathing.

I jumped on top of her and began performing chest compressions and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

"Come on, you're a Powerpuff Girl Z; you can't let the bastard win!" I screamed to Momoko during a quick round of chest compressions.

This went on for about two minutes when she finally began breathing on her own.

"Thank goodness" I whispered as I pulled Momoko up into a hug, even though she still remained unconscious.

"I'll go and let the mayor know what's going on; I'm sure he'll understand" Ms. Bellum whispered as she gave my shoulder a light squeeze before leaving out of the bedroom door.

Ami's POV

Explaining what had happened to the Professor while I retrieved her coat, Ms. Bellum then inquired, "To whom was Luke addressing when he told her 'you can't let the bastard win'?"

"Death" I answered simply before jogging up the stairs to see if Luke needed any further help with taking care of Momoko.

"Luke's had a hard time accepting death ever since we lost Blossom" the Professor explained as he saw Ms. Bellum to the door.

"But death is a natural thing that occurs every day" Ms. Bell noted.

"Yeah, but to Luke, it is personal" Isamu informed her and she quietly nodded her head in understanding.

Luke's POV

We gave Momoko hot tea in the morning and soup broth for lunch and dinner, carefully pouring it into her mouth while she swallowed it down on nani little strength she had in her. I would change her about three times a day and would spoon her at night to keep her warm.

It was two weeks before the Christmas holiday and ours was the only house on the block without lights as I was never able to find the time to put them up; my only time away from Momoko was spent using the oteari as I would take all of my meals in the room with Momoko, watching her every breath and muscle movement. Fortunately, her fever finally broke and was quickly on the road to a full recovery.

Momoko's POV

I awoke to find myself lying in bed and with Luke holding onto me while dressed in his pajamas. I slid out of bed and wrapped a robe around myself while staring back at Luke in wonderment when Ami quietly entered the room and giving me quite a start.

"Take it easy, Momoko, you were burning up with a fever and had a bad chill. We tried everything we could think of when the Professor told Luke to stay in bed with you to keep you warm" Ami explained to me in a whispered voice as she felt my forehead to make sure the fever had indeed broken and smiled.

"How long have I been out for?" I asked, also whispering, as I sat down in my desk chair and began to stare out the window to see many of the houses in the neighborhood done up in Christmas lights.

"You've been in and out of it for a little over a week. We thought we were going to lose you for a little while there when you stopped breathing, but Luke preformed chest compressions and gave you mouth-to-mouth to revive you" Ami informed me as she wrapped her arms around me in a hug.

"I don't really remember any of it, but it would seem that I owe him my life" I said as I turned to look at Luke who was still asleep in my bed.

"He's remained at your side the entire time, even telling the mayor, in no uncertain terms, what he could do with himself. We've since apologized on Luke's behalf, telling the mayor about you and your condition. They were quick to understand. In fact, the only time that Luke has left your side was to use the bathroom himself" Ami explained as I glance into my long underwear as I kept getting this funny feeling.

"I see, but why am I wearing a diaper and where are my underpants?" I asked of her and began to remove the thing, thankful to find the thing was dry.

"You wet the bed and since there was no good way to provide you with a bedpan, we had to find an alternative" Ami replied with a shrug as she helped me out of my robe.

"Wait a second, then who has been…" I let my thought drift off as realization hit.

"Well, none of us has ever changed anyone other than ourselves before and since Luke's the strongest of us…he took care that, with me acting as his assistant" Ami told me with a light blush and I relaxed a bit knowing that she had also been there during those multiple times.

"Arigato for telling me all of this, Ami; can you help me down to the furoba? I need a bath" I requested with a yawn but began to experience a bit of dizziness.

"Best to wait until Luke's awake to help you, but in the meantime, why don't you get a little more sleep" Ami offered me and I agreed with her as I slid back into the bed with Luke.

Ami had gone by the time I woke up and turned to look at Luke who was running his hand up and down my side. I rolled over and curled up next to him even closer as I gazed up into his dark eyes and began to feel a want of him. It seemed funny to think that when I first met him, he terrified me, but now, I felt full trust and comfort being with him.

"How're you feeling, Momoko-chan?" Luke asked of me in a whisper.

"Hmm, much better, arigato" I replied as I snuggled up against his chest.

"How about a bath when you're feeling up to it?" Luke offered me.

"I'd love one, but only if you're there to help me" I answered with a blush and Luke chuckled.

"Just try and stop me, besides, I need a bath too" Luke returned with a bit of a blush of his own while I began to feel excited.

Later, down in the furoba as we sat in the hot water in the tub and Luke gingerly ran a washcloth over my back, I asked, "Luke, if I've been out so long, how did I survive without food or water; I mean, there was iie I.V. in my arm or anything."

"You don't remember, do you? We would slowly pour soup broth and/or tea into your mouth and you would swallow it down instinctively on nani little strength you had" Luke explained to me as he poured hot water over my shoulders to rinse the soap off.

"I owe you my life" I murmured to him as tears came to my eyes.

"I love you more than you can imagine. If anything happened to you, I'd have gone nekkyo. But I can't fully let go of Blossom until I catch and bring to justice her killer" Luke confessed to me with tears in his eyes and I turned to kiss him, shyly at first, but soon prolonged it, though of course refraining from French-kissing with him just yet.

We rose up out of the water, and wrapped our towels around ourselves. We walked up the stairs, me in front of him to make sure if I succumbed to another dizzy spell, I would not fall. I returned to my room, while he left for his own, to find the bedclothes had been changed and the place had been sprayed down with a disinfectant. I dried myself off and threw my towel into the hamper. I then decided to forgo with getting dressed and climbed into bed to go to sleep in the buff. I lay there trying to sleep, but my mind kept returning to Luke's words that he wouldn't let go of Blossom until he found her killer.

'Nani are the chances of my finding those people with Ami's and Isamu's help?' I asked of myself as I stared up at the ceiling.

Someone then crept into my room and I pretended to be asleep. The person then came over to my bed, lay down atop it, covered us with a blanket, and kissed me on the back of my head as they wrapped their arms around me.

"Oyasumi to amai yume, Momoko-chan" I heard Luke bid me.

"Oyasumi nasai, Luke-kun" I returned with a yawn and we fell asleep together.

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><p><strong>Carly: Mildly suggestive, but still kept quite clean and professional.<strong>

**TCW: I have to keep things clean or you can't enjoy them, Carly-chan.**

**Carly: True. So nani is in store for the next fun-filled chapter?**

**Next time…**

**Momoko: I get to share in the holidays with Luke and the girls.**

**TCW: All this and more coming soon.**

**Carly and Momoko: Meanwhile, please leave us some nice reviews!**

**Author's Note: To those wondering or don't remember from the last time this was written, I got the idea for Luke's words during the CPR scene from an episode of M*A*S*H.  
><strong>


	10. The Holidays

**Thank you for the reviews, everyone! For this next chapter, we get to join the others in enjoying…**

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><p><strong>The Holidays<strong>

The next day, we returned to school where I was greeted warmly by the majority of the class with some shedding tears of happiness knowing that I still walked amongst the living after having been told about nani had happened to me while I was out sick. Even Keane-sensei made sure to throw in a relieved hug or two which I happily returned to her.

Later that morning, while cleaning out my locker, I found a small notebook that had Blossom's name on it hiding in the back. I opened it and discovered that this had been her book of clues, and out of nosiness, I read through them and quickly pocketed the notebook to show to Ami and Isamu later on. Amongst all the clues, I found a math problem and began to look at it carefully.

The school bell rang and I closed up my locker, running to class so that I would not be late. During our math assignments, I secretly copied down the math problem that was in Blossom's notebook and decided to ask Keane-sensei to have a look at it.

"You forgot to carry the one" she told me after reading the problem and brushed a stray strand of hair out of my eyes and back behind my ear while I quickly adjusted the answer to the correct one.

'Blossom must have been in a hurry' I thought to myself and slid the math problem into the little notebook. I had been told by many that Blossom had been a straight 'A' student with even a few 'A+'s'.

After class, I stopped to notice the numbers on the lockers and realized that the numbers in the math problem represented the numbered lockers. I began trying to find the one with a number that would correspond with the answer to the math problem. I found it alright, but the person standing in front of it terrified me beyond belief.

"Well, what do you want?" the locker's owner growled at me.

"Gomen nasai, I've gotten lost and can't find my locker" I told him and he let out an annoyed sigh.

"Follow me then" he growled and I obediently did so; I had not realized that my fib was more truthful than I had imagined as he led me down the halls at least 6 paces ahead of me.

"Take a right at the next hallway and you'll find yourself back in the correct area" he told me in a growl as he turned back and returned to his own locker.

"Momoko-chan, nani were you doing with that guy?" Isamu asked as she ran up to me; she was slowly learning to speak Nihon-go but only knew a few sporadic words.

"I'll tell you later" I replied simply, just thankful to have gotten away from him unharmed.

At lunch, I told Isamu and Ami of my findings and showed them the notebook.

"So that's nani you were doing with him" Isamu said after I told them of what had transpired.

"I say we return to his locker after school to search it" Ami offered and we agreed to it.

We waited until we were certain that the boy had left the school's premises and ran to the locker.

"Kuso, it's a key lock" Isamu said as we stopped before the locker; of all words for her to learn, she just had to learn how to swear in Nihon-go.

There was a swish sound behind us, like that of a sword being drawn from its sheath, and a fist with a single blade sticking out of it sliced through the lock on the door.

"Unlocked: if you girls had told me earlier, I'd have already been here" Luke said to us as we nervously stood aside to allow him room to open the locker.

Nani we saw inside took us completely by surprise, Ami especially. The locker was riddled with photographs…of her! There was even a photo album which when Luke opened it, his cheeks went red with anger; it was filled with photos of Ami in her underwear or a bikini both at school while in the girls' locker and at home either in the bathroom, her bedroom, or playing in the pool.

"I feel sick" Ami whined as she looked at the album.

"Wait, nani is this in the back? 'If my secret love should be the one to discover that I am the one who committed the crimes that Christmas Eve, I will allow her to take me in. But if it should be one of her sisters, I will kill them with the greatest of pleasures'" Isamu read aloud a note that she noticed was in the back of the album.

Luke, meanwhile, cleared out all of the pictures of Ami from the locker and destroyed the camera that he had found inside.

"So, he killed Blossom, and even orchestrated the crimes of the Christmas Eve Massacre" I noted aloud as I tried to steady my nerves and stomach; now I felt like I was going to be sick.

"Then all we need to do is to take all of this to the police and have them arrest him" Isamu announced victoriously.

"Not yet, it's still only circumstantial evidence. All this proves is that he's been stalking Ami to take photos of her" Luke told us and we quickly felt defeated.

We returned home after closing up the locker and now sat around Luke's room as he fed all of the stray photos of Ami into a shredder and we discussed what was to happen next. Since my being sick, he decided to open up his room to allow his sisters, and later me, to come and go as we pleased.

"So now nani are we supposed to do, Luke?" inquired Ami sadly; she too was learning to speak Nihon-go.

"I think it's obvious: he wants you to find him to turn him in, so we should send you out to do just that" Isamu replied in frustration.

"I don't think that would be wise. I mean, nani if it's a trap and he doesn't really intend to turn himself over to her? I think we should do consider all possibilities before taking any action" I told them as I watched Luke feed the last picture into the shredder.

"Okay, okay, we get it, Miss I-like-to-sound-like-Blossom. By the way, aren't you going to dispose of these soft-core photos of Ami?" Isamu asked of Luke.

"Iie they can still be used as evidence" Luke replied as he picked up the photo album and put it into a drawer of his desk. "Don't worry, Ami, as soon as we can bring the…bum to justice, I will destroy that darned thing."

"I know you will, but it's just, knowing that the album exists makes me feel queasy" Ami replied as she wiped a couple of tears from her eyes.

When school let out for Christmas and New Year's Day, we began to spend many of our spare hours sitting in front of the fireplace talking, though Luke and I would have little spare time as we had a week's worth of homework to finish from the week I was out sick. Fortunately, we finished our homework in time for the Christmas holiday where, while gathered together in the living room we passed presents around.

I felt bad because I had been unable to purchase any gifts for Luke, Ami, and Isamu while they bought presents for me: Luke had gotten me a red mini buster sword, Ami and Isamu had specially order two of my favorite mangas in Nihon-go, and the Professor bought me a sweater.

"Arigato for all of your wonderful gifts, I only wish I could return the gesture" I told them, feeling downhearted and guilty.

"Do you mean these little gift boxes?" Luke asked as he placed four presents into my lap, each labeled from me to each of them.

I looked up at Luke in surprise and he winked to me; I could have cried and kissed him at that moment as I slowly handed out the gifts.

"Awesome, I've been eyeing this watch for a long time; arigato, Momoko-chan" Isamu exclaimed as she hugged me and Ami did the same for the watch given her.

Isamu's watch was silver with an emerald green face and Ami's watch was white with a teal face.

"Arigato for the new set of test tubes, Momoko-chan" bowed Utonium-san before heading to his lab to add them to his other sets of test tubes.

"And I love my watch, though, not as much as I love you" Luke murmured into my ear and kissed me on the cheek.

"Oh, and you got a package from Tokyo" exclaimed Ami as she brought the box into the room.

I carefully opened the box and found a smaller box with a tea set in it, another small box with tea, and some letters from my family and friends. I opened the letter from my family first and a photo fell out. I picked it up and saw Kuriko sound asleep in my bed. The letter explained the photo: turns out that Kuriko had been having difficulty sleeping since I left. At night, after receiving my email to her, she's been sneaking into my room to sleep in there and has had less trouble sleeping since.

The letters from Kaarii, Kaoru and Miyako basically filled me in on the happenings in Tokyo since I left, though from Miyako I learned that Takaaki had finally been released from the hospital and had recently proposed to her; they were now engaged to be married once they graduated from college.

I then found a note from Kuriko which told me how much she loved and missed me and that she hoped I wouldn't forget her while in my new home. Half way through her letter and I was crying quite heavily as I longed to hold her in my arms once more. Towards the end, she thanked me for the Christmas card I had mailed to her featuring pictures of the family I was staying with and of the city in which I was living.

I looked up at Luke as he was helping Ami and Isamu to set the time on their watches while wearing a black leather one with an onyx face, all three designer Relic brand, and they were smiling and giggling with each other.

Later, after the wrapping paper had been cleaned up and placed into the recycling, I snuck up to my room and quickly wrote an 'arigato' note to Luke, addressing him as Santa Claws (a play on the name as he has those claw-blades) since he had gone to the trouble of buying gifts for him and his family but labeling them from me to them, and for sending the card to Kuriko.

I descended the stairs and found the three of them sitting around the fireplace and staring into it with smiles of content on their faces. I dropped the note into Luke's lap and went to sit on the steps of the stairway.

He came around the corner and smiled down at me. I rose up and bowed politely as I began to say, 'arigato,' but he silenced me by placing his index finger to my lips.

"Look up…that's called mistletoe and according to European tradition, whenever a couple meets underneath it, they must kiss" Luke informed me with a smile as I stared up at the plant hanging above our heads.

"That's a tradition I can live with" I replied as I wrapped my arms around his neck and we kissed, shyly at first, but soon deepening it quite nicely as Luke dipped me low.

Later, after my shower, I listened for Luke to come up the stairs and silently beckoned him into my room. Once he entered, I closed my door and locked it. As he turned around to look at me in puzzlement, I untied my robe and let it drop to the floor to stand before him in my lingerie.

I then approached him and placed my hands upon his chest as I rose up on tiptoe to kiss him and said, "I owe you a debt of gratitude and would like to provide you with an extra special Christmas present of my own" as I led him to my bed.

We began kissing each other when Luke went down me, slipping a pair of clean pajama bottoms onto me and slowly drew them over me. Turning to retrieve my pajama top, he rose up to kiss me on the lips once he finished covering me and said, "That's a gift I want to save for a future point in time."

I looked up at him innocently, wondering to nani point in time he was referring to as he placed me into my bed and laid down beside me as he covered us with the sheets while I clicked my lamp off and we cuddled up together to go to sleep.

It was the day before their New Year's Eve and Luke came to me at midnight and with a kiss, bid me a Happy New Year, as it was indeed the New Year back home in Japan, while inviting me on a date to a New Year's Eve party the following evening and I agreed.

We met up with some of our friends from school, many we were happy to see and a few that we were anything but eager to see: Morbucks-san was one of the latter.

Princess continuously tried to force herself between me and Luke as we danced to the beautiful music. It was finally time to begin the countdown, Luke and I were to share our first kiss of the New Year once the ball fell, and Princess pushed me down, stealing Luke's first kiss of the New Year. I turned away and began crying as she pressed her lips to his when I heard him slap her across the face and hard.

"You filthy, spoiled, selfish, conniving bitch! I promised that kiss to Momoko-chan and you just stole it from her!" shouted Luke in pure anger and hatred.

"Oh well, looks like she'll just have to settle for second, just the way it should be for that little slut" Princess smiled back deviously as she rose up, dusted herself off, and sauntered away, happy, despite having a distinct red handprint on her face, knowing nani precious thing she had taken from me.

"Actually, she kissed you at the four second mark and you broke it off at the count of 1, so that little so-and-so didn't officially take your first kiss of the New Year, but the last kiss of the old one" a boy named Pablo, who was Ami's partner for the party, told us while Princess was still within earshot.

I looked up at Luke with astonishment and Princess turned back to look at us in horror as she heard nani had happened. Luke reached down, scooped me up in his arms, and took off running for home, with a furious Princess in pursuit.

Finding a clearing, Luke transformed, leapt into the air, and carried me home, away from any possible interruption from Morbucks-san. Luke set me on my bed and excused himself to the furoba as he wanted to clean his mouth of all possible traces of Princess

Luke came back and sat down on my bedside to stroke my cheek and run his hand through my hair and we kissed, slowly deepening it into a French kiss. Without parting, we slid each other out of our button-down shirts and, breaking off for only a quick moment to remove his pants and my skirt, we kissed again as he climbed into bed with me and we went to sleep together. I was happy again, Luke was mine and I had his very first kiss of the New Year still tingling on my lips as I snuggled up against him and we drifted off to sleep.

Elsewhere, in the Morbucks' mansion, 

Princess screamed, hollered, and carried on about the fact that she had failed in her mission to get Luke's first kiss, but succeeded in receiving Luke's first slap across her face and still had a red handprint on her cheek. When she finally settled down, she began to hatch a most evil scheme to get revenge upon Momoko.

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><p><strong>Carly: I don't think I like the sound of that.<strong>

**TCW: Me either, but hopefully someone can protect Momoko against Princess' evil plan.**

**Carly: True. So nani is in store for the next chapter?**

**Next time…**

**Momoko: We're going to turn the hands of time back for a little while so as to catch up with my friends and teammates back in Nihon.**

**TCW: But we'll catch back up with Momoko and the others soon.**

**Carly: Meanwhile, leave us some nice reviews!**


	11. Bridgette's Big Finish

**Thanks again for all of the great reviews, friends! For this chapter, we're going to turn the hands of time back a little bit to catch up with Miyako, Kaoru, and Kaarii with…**

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><p><strong>Bridgette's Big Finish<strong>

Meanwhile, back in Tokyo, Kaoru, Miyako, and Kaarii were studying for their mid-terms at the lab when they received a summons from the mayor to save the city from Mojo Jojo.

Transforming and taking flight, they were half way to their destination when Kaarii/Bridgette asked, "Uh, so who exactly is this Mojo Jojo that we're supposed to be fighting against?"

"A monkey who was struck with the black particles of Kare and thus turned into a monster who has this urge to dominate humans ever since the day he was relentlessly teased by a local produce grocer" Bubbles explained in rapid summary.

"Un, and he tends to attack the city using his home-built mechs that he always dubs as his Robo-Jojo's" added Buttercup just as they arrived on the scene and pointed to the giant robot that was attacking the city with Mojo sitting in the glass-bubble cockpit of the machine.

"I don't know how much help I'm going to be against that thing" replied Bridgette in concern as she stared at the ten-foot tall robot.

"I'm not too sure either. He can adapt the metals of his robots so that they become stronger and stronger after each time we defeat him" Bubbles returned.

"We had a really tough time the last time we faced him with Momoko on the team, but since you carry katana-tachi as your weapons, you may have the stronger advantage" Buttercup replied hopefully.

"Are you ready to do this?" Bubbles then asked of Bridgette to see if she was ready to make their team introduction.

"Hai" Bridgette replied as she led them down to land on the ground behind the giant robot as they shouted out, "Stop right there, Mojo Jojo; Lovely Fighting Science Legend, Powerpuff Girls Z!"

Turning back to glare down at the girls in annoyance, Mojo gave pause when he laid eyes upon Bridgette and the katana-tachi in her hands before calling back to them, "Ha! Mojo; I have specifically built this Robo-Jojo just for fighting against you pathetic girls, Mojo!"

With that he released three extra arms from his mech, one with a hammer like Buttercup's, another with a bubble wand like Bubbles', and the last with a yo-yo like Blossom's; though he was unprepared for Bridgette's katana-tachi, but he refused to let his lack of being prepared for her show.

The girls charged in with Buttercup taking the lead as she pulled back and swung her hammer, only to have the robot use its yo-yo to wrap around and snatch away her hammer. It then returned the attack with its hammer and smacked her into the side of a building and falling to the ground as she gripped her stomach and chest in pain.

"Hey, that kind of violence we can do very well without, desu. Bubbles Champagne" Bubbles called out only to have her bubble wand snatched away with the yo-yo once again and was attacked by a barrage of bubbles from the robot's wand. She landed face down and rolled until she collided with Buttercup.

"Daijobu, iie one treats my friends like that and gets away with it" Bridgette shouted but when she saw the yo-yo heading for her, she side-stepped and cut the string with one of her katana-tachi so that it continued rolling and skipping away down the street.

Growling at her in annoyance, Mojo raised the bubble wand to attack Bridgette with a multitude of bubbles, but she ran beneath them and cut the wand off with her swords. While she was within close range, he then tried to smack her with the hammer only for her to parry his efforts and turned at the right moment to cut the head of the hammer off.

"It looks like you're out of weapons, Mojo Jojo" Bridgette said sassily only to turn around as the robot ran up to her and slapped her in the abdomen and knocking her back a piece and infuriating her to an unknown level as she endured the pain.

Looking up and over at their friend in concern, Bubbles and Buttercup watched as Bridgette's eye turned red with anger and she began to generate a lot of energy into her katana-tachi as she called out in a voice that almost sounded alien to them as she shouted, "That was the last straw, Mojo Jojo!" She sounded like she was shouting in full voice, but, simultaneously, a mature woman was also shouting it all in the same voice. "Katana-tachi of Fury; Bridgette Finish" she called out as she released a massive orb of energy that had taken on the shape of a giant katana towards Mojo's robot.

"This is going to hurt" Mojo said in defeat just as the attack impacted with his robot's body and caused the thing to explode in a giant ball of fire and smoke while Mojo's capsule was blasted away in a small star-flash.

Bridgette, meanwhile, had suddenly reverted back into Kaarii, dropped to her knees, and fell unconscious upon the ground. Seeing this, Bubbles and Buttercup ran forward and picked up their sleeping friend and flew her back to the lab with concerned looks on their faces as neither of them had seen anything like this happen before.

Scanning Kaarii with the Z Particle Ray, the Professor soon ran some numbers through his computer while Kaarii slept on the examining couch as her friends sat in chairs nearby.

"Well, there's good news and bad news: the good news is that she's going to be just fine and is merely exhausted from using up so much energy. The bad news is that this is going to be something that happens whenever she performs such an attack until her body can adjust to her powers and thus compensate for such energy expenditure. Right now, she just needs some rest" Professor Kitazawa announced quietly to the other two girls while Peach jumped up onto the table and curled up beside Kaarii to take a nap of his own while keeping an eye on her.

"Let's see: she's taken on the Amoeba Boys, Princess, the Gangrene Gang, and now Mojo Jojo, but of all those previous battles, she's never used that attack before, so it only makes sense that this would happen" noted Miyako as she and Kaoru now sat in the lab's o-furo so as to soak up the healing herbs that had been placed into the hot water so their sore muscles could recuperate.

"Un, but let's face it, Mojo is going to adapt and will find a way to attack us again. He'll be ready for most of her attacks on our next confrontation.

Later that afternoon, Kaarii had awakened and both Miyako and Kaoru were feeling better, so the girls were excused to walk home when they all stopped to notice that many of the local shops were setting up for the Christmas holiday.

"Christmas…it was always Momoko's favorite time of the year" Miyako said with a light sigh as she began to think of her far-away friend.

"Hey, Miyako, remember the first Christmas we spent as the Powerpuff Girls Z? I remember when we had to save all of the Santa-tachi - even the mayor - from Mojo, remember that?" Kaoru inquired.

"Hai, I remember that, desu!" Miyako said.

Kaarii listened in on the conversation, not knowing nani they were talking about; Miyako and Kaoru had forgotten that Kaarii was not part of the team during that time.

"Un, and poor Ken," Kaoru said. "The only reason he didn't believe in Santa at the time was because every year since he was five years old, he wished to see his mother for Christmas."

Miyako nodded sadly at this, and said, "I even remember the adorable outfits we wore that night!"

"You just had to mention those, didn't you?" Kaoru asked dryly before both of them broke out laughing.

Kaarii then started crying silently after hearing the story. She had not bothered to alert Miyako and Kaoru to her presence so that they could be aware of how they were making her feel.

As Miyako and Kaoru were laughing, Kaarii said with a sniff, "Chico-kun..."

Hearing this, Kaoru and Miyako looked over to Kaarii, who had her back turned, and was crying silently.

"Kaarii-chan, are you alright?" Miyako inquired, worried.

Kaarii then just took off running back to her house, calling back over her shoulder, "Sumimasen!"

Quickly realizing nani was wrong, Kaoru shouted after her "Kaarii, wait!"

Kaarii just ran off into the darkness, not turning back to her friends.

"I forgot that this was her first Christmas since her parents were divorced. We should have been more mindful of her feelings" Miyako said sadly as she hated to see her friend feeling so sad.

"Hai, not to mention the fact that it's her first Christmas away from her ototo; they were really close, from nani I understand" Kaoru added with a depressed sigh as she couldn't imagine having to be separated from her ototo, Shou.

The two girls separated and returned to their homes. Miyako lay awake in her bed pondering on how to make Kaarii feel at least somewhat better when an idea popped into her head and she smiled before turning over onto her side to drift off to sleep.

The next morning, Miyako and Kaoru met up rather early at the lab since they wanted to discuss Miyako's idea with Ken to see if he'd be willing to help, "I'd be honored to help if she'll let me!" Ken proclaimed as he wiped a few tears from his eyes and Peach barked happily as Kaoru called Kaarii to come over to the lab.

Begrudgingly, Kaarii entered the lab, though still with a sad look on her face when Ken sat down with her on the couch.

"I'd heard that this is to be your first Christmas away from your ototo and that this is making you very sad. You know, I never had an oneesan before and my mother is still out at the space station, so if it's all the same to you…can I be your ototo for the time being?" Ken asked of Kaarii much to her surprise. "I miss having mom home with me on the holidays and I have iie one other than Peach to really share the holiday with since Dad is always so busy, so onegai, let me share them with you."

"Ken-kun…Hai!" Kaarii said as she wrapped her arms around Ken and hugged him closely as she released a bunch of tears upon his shoulder.

The Professor then walked into the room and told the others, "I just got off the phone with Akatsutsumi Kakiko and have some mixed news. First I want you all to know that Momoko is fine now, but…we came very close to losing her a few days ago. She was very sick and had stopped breathing when she was quickly given CPR so as to revive her. Now like I said, she's better now, but it was felt that I should share this with all of you."

"My word…" Miyako gasped in concern, but soon swallowed down her urge to cry over her friend as she firmly reminded herself that Momoko had recovered.

"I think we should each send her a letter to let her know how we're doing and that we're happy to know that she's better now" Kaarii said after a while.

"That's a fantastic idea and be sure to get them over to Kakiko by the end of the day as she's getting ready to send some presents to Momoko tomorrow morning" Professor Kitazawa told them and the girls quickly ran to the table to get started on their letters.

Delivering their letters to Momoko that evening, the next day, Kakiko and Hachizou sent their gifts out in the mail. Christmas morning, and the girls all met up at the lab to share the holiday together with Kaarii holding onto Ken almost the whole time while they all sat staring into the fireplace.

"I sure hope Momoko is having a good time" Miyako said quietly.

"Hai, me too, for her sake" Kaoru said in agreement.

"Actually, it won't be Christmas morning in the U.S. until almost the middle of the night our time" Kaarii told her friends with Ken nodding his head in confirmation.

Miyako then turned her attention upon the ring on her finger and smiled at the thought of being engaged to Takaaki. She would call him later that night to talk with him about their holiday. Noticing this, Kaarii and Kaoru turned to smile at each other.

Later that afternoon, when the girls were leaving to return home, Ken stopped Kaarii to thank her for agreeing to be his oneesan for the day.

"Iie, it was my pleasure" Kaarii replied with a light sniff as she smiled down at him.

"If you ever feel the need to hug your ototo, don't hesitate to stop in and hug me" Ken offered rather sheepishly while lightly blushing.

"Count on it!" Kaarii replied with a big smile before turning and, waving to him, left for home with a skip in her step.

"Looks like I'm not the only one to expect getting pounced upon whenever Kaarii-chan comes over" Peach teased Ken.

Much to Peach's surprise, Ken replied, "That's alright, I don't really mind." The two then returned into the lab where they headed up to his room to turn in for the night.

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><p><strong>Carly: Well, it sounds as though Ken really enjoyed having Kaarii acting as his oneesan.<strong>

**TCW: True.**

**Carly: So nani is in store for the next chapter?**

**Next time…**

**Momoko: Princess attempts to exact her revenge upon me.**

**Luke: Like that's going to work.**

**TCW: All this and MUCH more coming soon!**

**Carly and Momoko: So stay tuned and, while you wait, leave us some nice reviews, onegai.**


	12. The Revenge of Princess

**Many thanks to all of my reviewers for the encouragement to continue! And next we return to Townsville where we will catch up with Momoko as she now must endure…**

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><p><strong>The Revenge of Princess<strong>

We returned to school the following Monday and got right back into studying, with Luke and I as study partners. However, of all those who returned to school, the Rowdyruff Boys were mysteriously absent. This had us feeling both relieved and concerned; nani were they up to, Luke and I pondered silently. And then there was Morbucks-san, who was plotting and planning her revenge against me.

Friday, the day before school would let out for spring vacation, and Princess decided to put her plan into action.

She and her strong-arm girls trapped me in the girls' locker room where they stripped me of my clothes, leaving me in my underwear and Princess began pacing in front of me while venting angrily, "I just don't get it! I keep trying to come up with ways a making you leave, but you persist to remain in the way of my getting Luke to fall in love with me! You even somehow managed to get out of the locked freezer in the cafeteria and instead of leaving, you continue to persist!"

"That was _you_ who locked the door and broke the key on the freezer? Luke was right. You _are_ nothing but a filthy, spoiled, selfish, conniving bitch!" I shouted at her.

"Duh, and your point would be?" Princess asked smartly.

"Why not make this a fair fight and send these two muscle-heads on to their classes; just a bare- knuckle catfight between you and me" I offered as I really wanted to put my fist down Princess's throat.

"Because then you have a stronger chance of doing me harm when I fully intend it to be strictly you who gets harmed" Princess replied as she nodded her head to her companions who knelt me down in front of her.

Princess then began to circle around us with a leather belt in hand and, when she came up behind me, lashed out and struck me hard and firm across my bare back. I gasped in shock, pain, and horror as she unleashed another strike upon my back and I screamed out as I clenched my eyes shut. The third strike fell across my o-shiri with the fifth and sixth connecting with the soles of my feet before she returned to deliver the remaining four to my o-shiri.

I was leaning forward, gasping and crying in pain when Princess came back up behind me with electric hair clippers in hand and let the thing buzz in one of my ears as she whispered her next step into my other ear, "Get ready, because in a few minutes there won't be a trace of that pretty red hair for Luke to fawn over."

I was helpless, I had too little strength to put up enough of a fight, and, since Luke had been called away, I knew I had iie way of getting out of this as I braced myself for the emotional anguish that was to befall me.

Suddenly, the door to the girls' locker room exploded and, as a group of girls entered, they quickly separated into two groups as they granted Luke access and from the look in his eyes, Princess was about to learn a whole new meaning to the word 'humiliation'.

With a sudden yell of, "Get 'em girls," from Isamu, all of the girls jumped onto Princess and her strong-arm friends, quickly rendering them immobile while Luke tended me.

"You hurt my friend. First you try to steal my first kiss of the New Year from her and now you go and hurt her" Luke said while I could see him visibly shaking with anger.

"Don't forget about throwing her into the boys' locker room" Ami reminded him.

"Or trying to cut her ponytail off in the library" Isamu added and he nodded his head in confirmation.

"And locking me up in the freezer" I informed him in a weak voice and he paused to look at me in surprise. "She confessed it to me just a few minutes ago."

"You know what I told you about what I said I'd do to you if you ever pestered Momoko-chan again, right? Well, good news is that _I'm not_ the one who's going to do it to you" Luke the three girls as he knelt down in front of them, before glancing up to Isamu, Ami, and a friend of theirs named Robin, and nodded his head to them. "Do as you all deem fit."

They clicked on three electric hair clippers and, as three other girls taped their mouths shut, the shaving began. Luke came back over to me while the girls were being shaved and did his best to tend me, but I was so tender from being struck so violently, that there was little he could do. The razors were clicked off and the girls were released to run out of the locker room crying to the Principal's office.

"Ami, I want you to speak with the Principal when she gets here; Isamu, go turn on one of the shower stalls, strictly cold water; the rest of you are to remain here to await judgment and discipline while I take Momoko into the showers to get cleaned up" Luke instructed the girls as he held me up on my feet and guided me to the shower once Isamu returned.

"With all due respect, Luke, I'll speak with Principal Rosa while you and your sisters tend to Momoko" Robin told him as Ami came up to help him in getting me to the shower.

As I stood under the cool water with Luke, his shirt stripped off and lying on the floor outside the stall, helping to keep me upright, Kouchou-sensei and Kangofu-sensei entered the shower to see the damage done to me.

"Why don't you go get dried off and speak with Principal Rosa while I attend Momoko?" suggested Kangofu-sensei to Luke.

"I'm not leaving Momoko-chan's side" Luke returned and I smiled down at him appreciatively.

"Go on Luke, I'll help her with Momoko" Isamu said as she came up and took his place.

"I have my medical kit with me, so if you can help me lay her down I can start tending her" offered Kangofu-sensei and Luke nodded his head in agreement.

They both laid me down on a bunch of soft towels that Ami had set up for me to lay on while Isamu and the nurse began tending me as Kouchou Rosa began talking with Luke about nani had been done to the three girls.

"Look, I understand that what they did was unforgivable, but don't you think cutting their hair off like that a bit extreme?" Kouchou Rosa inquired as she fussed at Luke.

"Iie, they were just about to do the same to me when Luke-chan and the other girls came in and stopped them" I replied as Kangofu-sensei was gingerly wiping an ointment over the welts on my back to bring down the swelling.

"Besides, that was the girls' plan, not mine, and that was all that happened to them; look at Momoko-chan and tell me that Princess and her friends didn't go over board?" noted Luke as he noticed me wincing painfully as Kangofu-sensei tried to place my bra back over my chest, the straps were rubbing a welt and it hurt like hell.

"Not to mention the three misdemeanors that they had performed earlier" Ami added as she retrieved my shirt for Kangofu-sensei to cover me with as she gave up on getting my bra back on me.

"What three previous misdemeanors?"

"They shoved her into the boys' locker room while taking away her towel; they tried to cut her ponytail off in the library; and just recently we learned that they're the ones who closed the freezer door and locked Momoko inside" Isamu said while counting the assaults made upon me.

"I'll do what I can to justify things, but those girls' parents are influential people in this city; they may try suing or worse" sighed Kouchou Rosa as she looked at my injuries while Kangofu-sensei removed a camera from her medical kit and began photographing my injuries.

"Sorry, but I need to do this for documentation and evidence of the assault" she apologized to me. "Isamu, can you raise her shirt so I can photograph the welts on her back?"

Isamu cooperated with her and Kangofu-sensei was able to get all the pictures she needed. When finished, Kangofu-sensei and Kouchou-sensei led us, with Luke carrying me in his arms, to the infirmary where I was given a pain pill and they all watched over me while I slept.

When I awoke, I could hear arguing outside the infirmary's door; obviously, the girls' parents had come to the school and were probably now arguing and threatening Luke and Kouchou-sensei.

I sat up and turned to try to stand up when Kangofu-sensei came forward saying, "You really need to lie back down, Momoko; you need your rest so your body can heal itself" as she and Isamu gently tried to hold me in place while Ami nodded her head in agreement with them.

"Luke needs me" I mumbled as the pain medicine I had been given was still making me drowsy.

"We'll get him for you as long as you promise to stay put" instructed Kangofu-sensei and I nodded my head in agreement as Ami opened the door and called for Luke.

Luke came into the room, with Kouchou Rosa and the girls' parents behind him, and he knelt down in front of me as he asked, "How're you feeling, Momoko-chan?"

"I want to go home" I told him as I broke out crying once more and he pulled me to him to cry upon his shoulder while Kangofu-sensei showed them the photos of my wounds.

"My god;" "That poor child;" "After seeing these pictures, there's no way we're not going to press charges, Miss Rosa" murmured three quiet voices as I fell back to sleep while leaning against Luke.

"Thank you for understanding, I'll see you out" Principal Rosa told them and walked them out.

Luke carried me home as per my request and remained with me till I awoke once more; his arms wrapped around me. I tried to get up out of bed but the welts I had suddenly shot through me like a bunch of hot knives.

"Solar Blade; hold still, I'd have done this sooner, but I needed a way to get us out of the hot seat; Healing Hand" I heard him say as he pressed his hands to my back.

I was about to scream out in pain from his touching my wounds, but instead a warmth came over me along with a yellowish light that enveloped my whole abdomen and cleared when he removed his hands from my back; my injuries completely healed.

"That was the same warmth I felt when you pulled me out of the freezer" I said in astonishment as I turned back to look up into his eyes.

"Hai" he replied with a nod of his head.

"I want to take a bath" I told him as I placed my hands and face against his chest.

"I'm right behind you" he replied and we took off for the furoba where he washed me gently while I indulged in the relaxing, somewhat sensuous, feeling.

We then returned to his room where we slid into his bed for a good night's rest. Though, I noticed that Blossom's picture had been moved to a high shelf across the room and I snuggled up against him even closer.

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><p><strong>Carly: Well Princess surely must have learned her lesson this time and it is good to see Momoko has been healed by Blade's Healing Hand.<strong>

**TCW: Hai, quite.**

**Carly: So nani is in store for the next chapter?**

**Next time…**

**Momoko: The game's afoot, and we're about to confront Blossom's killer.**

**TCW: All this and more, coming soon!**

**Carly and Momoko: Just make sure to leave us some nice reviews while you wait.**


	13. Into the Lion's Den

**To all of those who have been kind enough to review, I offer my thanks. For this chapter, I wish to say in advance that I intend no offense to any and all fans of Butch from the original Powerpuff Girls series. Now, with that said, let's get the story back under way with…**

**Into the Lion's Den**

Luke and I were using my computer to research some information on Nihon for a future school project when there was a knock on my door.

"Iie wonder you never really notice any of the light tremors, the whole country is riddled with volcanic and tectonic activity" Luke noted to me while I stood off to one side swaying with the nice music that I had playing on my stereo.

"Hai, but it's because of the one up in Hokkaido that they have so many wonderful hot springs. My folks took me and Kuriko up there once and we got to run around in the buff the whole time, of course I was only about 8 at the time" I replied when Luke sent me a shocked looked.

We then heard the knock and turned around to see Berry and Barrage in the doorway; Luke had decided to allow them to perform as Powerpuff Girls as long as they agreed to call on him in the event of a fight.

"Gomen to bother you, but we thought you should know that the Rowdyruff Boys are on the move again" Berry apologized with a polite bow; having picked up a few of my mannerisms and was studiously trying to put them into practice.

"Then let's go, but keep a respectable distance from them so that they won't spot or detect us" Luke instructed as he and I removed our communicators from our belts.

"Solar Blade;" "Hyper Blossom," we said as we transformed into our alternate identities.

"That is just so awesome to be able to watch" Berry noted to Blade with a smile.

"Better to be the one experiencing the transformation" noted Barrage with a wink to me and I giggled at her.

With that, we flew out of the house and went off in pursuit of the Rowdyruff Boys, unfortunately, when we found them, they led us right into an ambush.

Out of nowhere, we were bombarded with a varying array of attacks. A red demon that almost resembled Kare shot us with an electric blast from his claws; a girl with a jet pack shot us with a laser; five boys of varying description each shot at us with lasers of their own; and a large pink creature dropped a massive boulder upon us; and three boys using some kind of lasers from their eyes were also joining in, beating us down till we lay unconscious in a pile.

We all awoke to find ourselves chained up against the wall of an old, abandoned warehouse with the only light streaming in through high windows up near the roof and two holes in the roof.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" asked a devious voice from one end of the room as its owner walked into the only other bit of light that fell upon the floor than the one we all sat in together.

"Butch, why I ought to…" began Barrage when a pocket knife landed between her legs, just shy of her personal area and she fell silent as she stared down at the weapon.

"Lucky you, I missed. So, did you honestly think you could empty my locker, destroy my camera, steal my album of porno pictures of your sister, and get away with it? And those new uniforms are pathetic" the boy said as he stepped forward into the light.

Blossom had been so set on proving Brick to be the mastermind behind the crimes that she failed to notice two small clues, both of which pointed to his kyodai, Butch, as the true criminal. He knelt down by Berry, unfastened her chains, and led her some fifty feet away from us.

"Boys, chain Ami's sister and friend to the wall and remove their stupid uniforms from them. To the rest of you, I give Luke to destroy in the next room to your black hearts' content" instructed Butch; refusing to acknowledge us in our PPZ forms.

"I thought you said that if I came looking for you that you'd come quietly" Berry said angrily.

"And you were stupid enough to believe me; how gullible. No I intend to destroy each of you much the way I did your sister, only I intend to be a little more merciful where you're concerned, unless you swear to be mine and to obey my every wish, command, and desire" Butch told her with a nasty grin as he dropped a set of old, dirty maid's clothes at her feet.

"And what if I should choose to fight back?" Berry asked of him and he replied by nodding his head to his blonde-haired kyodai who, as Ami turned around to face them, pulled out a leather whip and struck Barrage across her back with it, causing her to scream out in pain.

"Shall I have them continue, or are you going to make your decision?" Butch asked of Berry as he took hold of her chin and jerked her head back to look him in the eyes.

Berry kicked her shoes off and began taking off her uniform to start dressing in the maid's clothes.

"Boys, leave the room" Butch then commanded his brothers and they left obediently.

"Good, now that we're alone, I'm going to thoroughly enjoy making you my servant" Butch decreed in a jeering voice as he began to grope her.

"Go ahead, just let my sister and friend go" Berry begged as she wiped a few tears from her eyes and he glared back down at her in annoyance.

Blade's POV

I had been disarmed of my sword and now knelt down in the center of the room as many of Butch's followers surrounded me while jeering at me when Brick and Boomer entered the room.

"The mighty Blade; not so might without your precious sword, are you?" ridiculed Brick smartly.

"Take him, guys" Boomer called out as a bunch of guy jumped on top of me and thus began a free-for-all battle of some twenty or more guys against me.

I had taken about fifty to punches to the face and stomach, but was still standing as none of them really hurt, but heard Blossom scream out in pain, my blood began to boil. I'd had enough by this time and decided that now was the time to show them one of my hidden powers. I threw the lot of them to the ground and drew my hands back as I gathered energy into them and, with one quick forward thrust, I opened my hands to release a powerful blast of energy as I called out, "Solar Flare!"

Hyper Blossom's POV

Brick came back out into the room and pulled out a whip, pulled back his arm, and slashed it across my back and I screamed out in pain.

He was making ready to strike me again when the wall between me and Barrage exploded; a bunch of guys were blasted through and sent sprawling on the floor. Butch quickly turned back to see nani the commotion was and Ami took the opportunity to escape him, slipped back into her Powerpuff uniform, and summoned forth a teal ball.

Tossing her ball into the air, where it suddenly changed color to a bright red, Berry announced, "Cherry Bomb" and spiked the ball at Butch where it exploded on contact with his chest and sent Butch flying back and smashing his head through a wall and slamming into a steel girder after which he fell to the ground.

As the ball, now teal again, returned to her and she caught it, Berry then dropped to her knees on the floor and began sobbing as she hatefully shouted at Butch's remains, "That's for what you did to Blossom, you bastard! I hope you burn in Hell!"

Blade, shocked by hearing Berry swearing so strongly, walked over to me and said as he placed his hand upon mine and Barrage's shoulders as he said, "Healing Hand." Once we were healed, he then cut me and Barrage down while whispering to us, "Remind me not to get on her bad side."

Barrage and I nodded our heads in agreement as we gathered our uniforms and began getting dressed while Blade walked over and placed a comforting hand upon Berry's shoulder as he knelt down beside her and she turned to cry into his shoulder.

Once we were all dressed and the police had arrived after we had called them, Blade made sure that Brick and Boomer had been taken into custody; they had to summon for an ambulance to take Butch away. We then took off for home, Berry in Luke's arms as she silently laid her head upon his shoulder and continued lightly crying.

Upon our arrival home, we reverted back to our normal forms and Luke took Ami to the furoba and gave her a good scrubbing. Once that was done he then carried Ami up to her room where he placed her into her bed to sleep for the rest of the day.

Butch never regained consciousness, having been rendered comatose from heavy hemorrhaging in his cranial cavity and brain damage.

Three weeks later, there was one final court case whereupon Butch's brothers proclaimed his guilt and were given 5 years in prison for aiding in the crimes and 3 more for withholding evidence. Many, including Princess, wanted Ami to stand trial for killing Butch, but the judge threw this out on the basis that she killed him in self-defense. It was a day of mixed emotions, happy to know that justice had finally been attained for Blossom, sad that she wasn't with them to enjoy their triumph, and angry that those responsible would only receive 8 years for being accomplices to the crimes.

After the case was closed, Luke brought us to the cemetery where Blossom had been laid to rest and we all paid our respects to her.

True to his word, Luke destroyed Butch's photos of Ami once we returned home, even setting fire to them as we gathered together in the backyard. We all stood quietly holding hands as we watched the pieces of the photos burn, each silently lost in thought while still sharing companionship and love for one another.

That evening, after we had taken our showers, Luke came into my room, approached me from behind and, after kissing my cheek, neck, and shoulder, invited me to sleep in his room and I agreed whole-heartedly, though we made sure to keep it clean and just snuggled up together to enjoy each other's companionship.

**Carly: So Butch is now gone and his brothers are in jail, at least some justice has finally been attained for Blossom.**

**TCW: True, and once again, I'm sorry and I intended no offense to Butch's fans.**

**Carly: Duly noted; so what's in store for the next chapter?**

**Next time…**

**Momoko: You all get to return to Japan for a little while to catch back up with my friends, meet a whole new character to this story, and to learn of a very serious accident involving Kuriko.**

**TCW: All this and more coming soon!**

**Carly and Momoko: Meantime, make sure to leave us some nice reviews, onegai!**


	14. Tragedy Strikes

**Arigato for the great reviews, everyone; they really do motivate me to continue! For this chapter, however, things take a somewhat sadder note...**

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><p><strong>Tragedy Strikes<strong>

Kuriko was walking home from school and gave pause at the intersection to check for oncoming traffic, spied a car in the distance, and glanced up to notice the stop sign. Thinking she should be safe in the crosswalk, Kuriko began to step down from the curb when she noticed that the car was not showing signs of braking. Halfway out into the crosswalk and the driver suddenly seemed to accelerate and Kuriko turned to look at the large vehicle as it was barreling down on top of her. Dropping her bento box, Kuriko frantically tried to run, but the car, a purple, classic-styled limousine, was entirely too close and struck her.

Kuriko was sent flying forward and the vehicle still showed iie sign of stopping. She landed on the hard pavement and was sent rolling until the car came down upon her, its whole right side running over her and the car left without so much as noticing nani had happened. She lay there in the middle of the street for at least half an hour, which to her felt like half an eternity, when another car came up, but stopped a fair distance away. Its driver ran up to her, check her for a pulse and turned to yell something to their passenger, but she could not make it out.

Ten minutes later and an ambulance showed up along with a couple of police officers who kept trying to ask her nani had happened, but she could not form an answer iie matter how hard she tried. It was a moment of desperation, but she finally managed to summon the only thing that could clearly come to her mind: she wanted her oneechan and her mama.

"Mama…oneechan…" Kuriko managed to murmur and everyone stopped to look at each other.

She was placed onto a gurney and loaded into the back of the ambulance. She was in and out of consciousness as the technicians gave her the once over and kept trying to help her. One technician was going through her backpack when he found her identity and began to call her parents while another technician kept asking her questions. Again she could not find the answers and called out the only two things that kept flashing in her mind, "Mama…oneechan…"

Kakiko was sitting by the phone while Hachizou kept pacing, both very worried about their youngest as she was extremely late in coming home.

"Moshi-moshi" Kakiko said excitedly into the phone and gasped in horror as she was told nani had happened.

Both of them rushed to the hospital as quickly as they could and were quickly admitted into the Critical Car Unit room where Kuriko laid in a bed, many tubes running in and out of her arms, a respirator was hooked up to her, and she was unconscious, occasionally mumbling, "Oneechan, want oneechan."

Kakiko began placing phone calls, asking for favors of family and friends when word reached their oigosan, Udetsuyoi Rikiya. Of all of their extended family, Rikiya was the one the girls had liked the most. He quickly agreed to come and spend some time with Kuriko while she was in the hospital, but in all of his concern for her, he had forgotten to ask for directions.

Elsewhere

Kaarii, Kaoru, and Miyako all sat together in study hall, finishing up their homework so that they could spend the weekend having fun when their communicators began sounding. Checking their surroundings, the girls saw that they were the only ones in the room as the study hall's sensei had stepped out of the room to use the oteari, and so Kaarii flipped her compact open.

"Gomen nasai to bother you girls, but Fuzzy Lumpkins is up to his old tricks again" Professor Kitazawa informed them.

"Got it, Professor; we're on our way" Kaarii replied as she and the others dashed out of the room, heading for the roof where they transformed and took off to find and stop Fuzzy Lumpkins.

They soon found him, putting his hand print all over the city as a way of declaring parts of the city as his property. Buttercup flew down with her hammer high over her head so as to smack Fuzzy atop his head, but he stopped her in mid-swing and smacked her in the stomach. Buttercup was sent reeling back from the pain and she dropped to her knees while clutching her arms about herself and bracing against the pain.

Bubbles tried to use a varying array of bubble attacks, but to iie avail as Fuzzy just kept popping them until he managed to grab hold of her ankle and, with a hard yank, brought her slamming down onto the hard concrete.

Bridgette tried to attack him next, but he quickly side-stepped her attack and smacked her hard on the o-shiri and sent her tumbling into a tree.

Buttercup managed to rise back up to her feet and tried to attack Fuzzy once more, only to have Fuzzy yank her hammer from her hands and picked her up by the front of her shirt and slammed her into the side of a building.

"I'm going to enjoy this" Fuzzy said as he raised one hand and was about to crush her head.

"Hey, fur-ball, in case you haven't heard: that's iie way to treat a fujin" a masculine voice said and Fuzzy turned to notice a boy with white hair, wearing grey, and had a strange sword upon his back and standing beside a grey motorcycle.

"I don't know who you are, but maybe you'd like to take her turn instead" Fuzzy replied as he turned to face the newcomer.

"The name's Rikiya and any time you want to go, fur-face" Rikiya replied as he pulled his sword, a claymore, from its sheath on his back.

Fuzzy turned and, with a menacing roar, charged towards his new opponent with one fist cocked back to lay into him. Parrying Fuzzy's punch, Rikiya returned the blow directly to Fuzzy's face, knocking out a few teeth.

Now infuriated by the loss of teeth, Fuzzy tried to strike his opponent in the chest, but again he dodged and belted Fuzzy in the stomach, dropping him to his knees. Fuzzy tried to get back to his feet, but Rikiya slammed the pommel of his sword down atop Fuzzy's head and knocking him out.

Bridgette was the first of the girls to rise to her feet, albeit painfully, and walked up to the new boy saying, "Arigato for the assist with this baka."

"Doitashimashite" Rikiya replied as he walked over to help Buttercup to her feet.

Glancing to the hand offered to her, Buttercup slowly reached out and took hold of it only to be lifted up off the ground almost effortlessly. Turning to look at the newcomer, Buttercup blushed deeply at the sight of the boy who was holding her hand.

Bubbles tried to sit up with an audible groan and Bridgette ran over to offer her some assistance when Rikiya asked, "By the way, would either of you know how to get to Tokyo General?"

"I do, but why do you need to go there…if I may ask" inquired Bubbles as she stood up with Bridgette's help.

"My little itoko was recently struck by a car and is in the C.C.U. there; I'm really worried about her" Rikiya explained with a concerned look on his face.

"I could guide you there…if you like" Buttercup offered quickly, and added the latter part a bit more slowly much to her friends' surprise.

"Domo arigato, I have an extra helmet for you too" Rikiya then replied as he offered the protective head gear to her.

Slipping it on while Rikiya slid his own helmet on and started up his motorcycle, Buttercup soon looked at the vehicle in minor discomfort as she knew she couldn't ride properly with a skirt on.

"Uh, this is my first time on a motorcycle" she informed him as she looked at the bike in mild uncertainty.

"Just sit on the back sideways, place your feet onto this bar, and keep your arms wrapped around me; I'll take care of the rest" he informed her and Buttercup followed his instructions so as to sit side-saddle on the bike and they soon sped off, with Buttercup blushing again.

"I must have taken a harder hit on the head than I realized" Bridgette noted to Bubbles.

"Nani makes you think that?" inquired Bubbles innocently.

"Because I just saw _Buttercup_ climb _side-saddle_ onto a motorcycle while _blushing_ brightly and actually acting a bit _feminine_ around its rider" Bridgette replied in disbelief.

"Buttercup has a thing for muscular guys like that. Let me to tell you the story about the time where she dated a young man named Narushima Naruo..." Bubbles told her as they left to return to the lab while sharing the story with Bridgette.

Following Buttercup's instructions, they soon arrived at the hospital safely. Parking the bike in the visitors' parking, Rikiya turned to thank Buttercup as she dismounted and handed back the helmet to him.

"Arigato for the help" Rikiya told her as he kissed her on the cheek appreciatively.

"Doitashimashite; I hope your itoko is going to be alright" Buttercup replied while blushing even brighter before taking off to return to the lab as Rikiya watched her leave.

Running inside, Rikiya quickly approached the front desk so as to inquire as to where Kuriko was being held and was quickly given directions. Taking the elevator, Rikiya soon arrived at the C.C.U. and quickly spoke to a nurse at the desk.

"Certainly, right this way" the woman replied as she led Rikiya to Kuriko's room and knocked.

Kakiko answered the door and wrapped her arms around Rikiya appreciatively before leading him inside to where Kuriko was being kept sedated, though she still called out for her oneechan.

"We didn't want to bother Momoko since she's over in the U.S., but with the way Kuriko keeps calling for her, we may not have any other choice in the matter" Kakiko noted to Rikiya as he knelt down at Kuriko's bedside and took her small hand into his large one and kissed it gently.

"Gomen" Rikiya quickly said as he rose up and left out of the room with Kakiko following him; she knew nani was to come next.

Sure enough, Rikiya sat down in the chair outside of the room and began crying heavily as he had been unprepared to see the extent of the harm caused to someone so dear to him. Rikiya had only ever had but one imoto and she died at a very young age, so his itoko-tachi became more like his imoto-tachi. Kakiko wrapped her arms around him, but remained silent as she knew nani he was going through, having experienced it herself.

"I'll do nani I can to help" Rikiya told his obasan once he was able to get his emotions back under control.

"Domo arigato, Rikiya-chan" Kakiko replied softly to him and they soon returned to the room and Kuriko's side.

Try as he might, though, Rikiya couldn't bring Kuriko the comfort she wanted from her oneesan not even after she had been taken off the respirator as she was breathing on her own but still remained unconscious. Even the doctors were beginning to feel very little hope of Kuriko ever waking up as her stats never showed any signs of improvement. She didn't even respond when Miyako, Bridgette, and Kaoru stopped in to check up on her progress and held her hand.

It was then that Kakiko and Hachizou, with Rikiya's backing, decided to make a call to Momoko so as to summon her home.

"Hai, may I speak with Momoko, onegai? Momoko-chan…hai, it's good to hear you too, only I wish it could be under happier circumstances. Kuriko was the victim of a hit-and-run accident, she's stable, but is showing iie signs of improvement. We called your itoko, Rikiya, to help out, but Kuriko keeps calling out for you and taking little comfort from either of us. We need you to come home to help her, but…you won't be able to return. Remember: there was only enough money for two tickets, one for getting you there, which you already used and one for returning home. Arigato for understanding, Momoko-chan; sayonara" Hachizou told her and they soon hung up.

The next day, when he returned to the hospital to relieve Kakiko, who had spent the night with Kuriko, he told her that Momoko would be coming home soon and they embraced each other with a bit of hopefulness for Kuriko to recover.

In another part of the city

Shirogane Himeko's parents were concernedly trying to figure out why their youngest musume had so readily given up on learning how to drive and her chauffer/driving instructor would not volunteer any information, hoping that his young mistress would come clean to the atrocity she had caused to a young, unknown pedestrian when she had mistaken the accelerator for the brake. But instead, Himeko just kept quiet and demure about the whole event and seemed to be refusing to say anything.

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><p><strong>Carly: Is Kuriko going to be alright?<strong>

**TCW: Only time and the next chapter will tell.**

**Carly**: **Okay, so nani is to come in the next chapter?**

**Next time...**

**Momoko: I get to finally enjoy my first official date with Luke and he promises to propose to me after high school! Only, it seems as though it is not meant to be as I get summoned home to help out with Kuriko and I learn that I cannot return.**

**TCW: All this and more coming soon!**

**Carly and Momoko: So leave us a review in the meantime!**


	15. Love Blossoms

**Domo arigato all again for your reviews; next we get to rejoin Momoko and Luke in the U.S. as their…**

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><p><strong>Love Blossoms<strong>

The following weekend, Luke and I went out on our first official date. It was Friday night, I had just finished my homework when Luke, standing beneath my window, was calling to me. I opened my window wider and peered out and down at him flirtatiously.

"Would care to be by date tonight?" Luke inquired of me with a warm smile.

"I'll be right down" I told him excitedly.

_Softly opening the door and putting on shoes in the night wind  
>I'm a little bit nervous. I'm like an adult, a pair with him<em>

I slipped my high-heeled sandals onto my feet and ran outside to meet up with Luke who was now sitting on his motorcycle and waiting for me. I climbed on behind him, sitting side-saddle as I was wearing a mini skirt, and wrapped my arms around him as we sped off into the night.

_Let's go!_

_Blueberry, blackberry, raspberry, strawberry_  
><em>Blueberry, blackberry, raspberry, strawberry<em>  
><em>Merry merry-go-round, funky funny playground<em>  
><em>Merry merry-go-round, funky funny playground<em>

We pulled up to the beach of Townsville Bay and decided to go strolling through the surf, arm-in-arm, as we talked about my home town of Tokyo.

_The secret the light of the moon shines on  
>the still unknown world<br>hey, what is waiting beyond this point?_

We stopped to listen to the music coming from the Boardwalk Amusement Park and soon began dancing together in the moonlight.

_Shining Star_

_Decorate me prettily  
>because it'll make him like me more<br>I want to remain Cinderella even after midnight_

When the music ended, we fell onto the sand together and started laughing, till Luke pulled me to him and began kissing me. We shed our outer clothes and made out in the salty night air.

_Oh Please_

_Oh Please_

_Use your magic_

_Even the road I always walk is strangely different somehow_

_Let's go!  
>lollipop, candy shop, mint drop, chocolate chip...<br>lollipop, candy shop, mint drop, chocolate chip...  
>lovely lonely baby girl, shiny skinny boogie boy<br>lovely lonely baby girl, shiny skinny boogie boy_

_The spell whispered deep inside my chest  
>the feelings I can't tell honestly<br>a premonition of beginning open the next door_

_Midnight Sky my heart is connected to you  
>with this hand you've grasped<br>tonight is giving dazzling heartbeats_

_OH PLEASE  
>OH PLEASE<br>Say you love me_

_Midnight Sky my heart is connected to you  
>with this hand you've grasped<br>tonight is giving dazzling heartbeats_

_OH PLEASE  
>OH PLEASE<br>Say you love me_

We soon heard the distant bell of Town Hall and realized that it was getting late. We quickly dressed and took off running back to Luke's bike, hand-in-hand.

_So that our hands don't part like this_

_OH PLEASE  
>OH PLEASE<br>Use your magic_

We arrived back home and we quietly headed for the furoba together to wash off the sand and once more we began making out.

We exited the furoba with little care that we wore only our towels and went to my room where we decided to make love until we drifted off to sleep as the world outside iie longer seemed to matter to us anymore.

We soon began dating on a regular basis and one night, while sitting on a bench by the wharf, Luke promised me that he would propose to me upon our graduation from high school and I could not have felt happier at that moment.

School finally let out for the summer and we were already excitedly discussing the next year. It seems hard to believe that almost a year ago, I was a scared, timid basket-case and here I was now quite eager to attend the following year of high school along with my new family.

We were sitting outside one evening, watching the fireflies, when I received a phone call from home.

"It seems strange how watching insects whose o-shiri-tachi light up can be so relaxing" noted Isamu aloud and we all began laughing quite heartily.

"Momoko-chan, you have a phone call from home" Utonium-san called to me and, first shooting questioning glances to one another, I rose up from Luke's lap to speak on the phone.

"Moshi-moshi…Papa, it's good to hear from you! Nani, why? *Gasp* Is she going to be alright? Hai, I understand, I'll try to catch the next flight home. Nani do you mean? Daijobu, I'll be home as soon as possible, sayonara" I said, talking with my father on the phone, and hung the phone up sadly.

I turned to head back outside to be with my friends but found Luke behind and looking at me with concern. I didn't say anything; I just fell into his arms and cried into his chest. Once I had regained my composure, we returned outside to sit with Ami and Isamu as I told them of my conversation with my father.

"Kuriko was walking home from school when she was struck by a speeding car. The isha-tachi aren't sure if she's going to recover but she is occasionally calling for me. I need to return home to help out, but…I can't come back" I broke out crying on those last few words and Luke wrapped his arms around me.

It was not so much as my having to say sayonara to them forever that hurt the most, because it did hurt, but the fact that I would have to leave Luke that did. I would miss Isamu and Ami quite a lot, but I felt that my heart now belonged to Luke and the fact that we were now going to have to part for the rest of our lives was tearing me apart inside.

"We have at least this and one more evening together, so let's make the best of it" Luke murmured into my ear and as I looked up into his eyes, we kissed before heading off on our final date together. True to form, after returning home, we fell asleep in each other's arms.

The following morning, I called up the airport to find out when the next flight to Tokyo was to arrive and if there were any available seats. The next flight home was 7:00 the next morning and I was able to acquire a seat. I then went upstairs and began packing my things with Ami, Isamu, and Luke silently helping me. We finished by three in the afternoon and both Ami and Isamu decided to return to their rooms.

I sat down upon my bed and stared at all of my baggage begrudgingly; I didn't mind going home to help out until Kuriko recovered, but I had wanted to return to be with my friends and Luke. Luke meanwhile came up behind me and began massaging my shoulders as he kissed me on the back of my neck.

"Do you think we'll ever meet again?" I asked of him as I sniffed back the tears that were begging to fall.

"I…don't know…but I'd like to think so" Luke replied honestly.

I turned, wrapped my arms around him and, as he also embraced me, we shared a good cry as we didn't wish to part from each other. It hurt to think that we would never have the opportunity to take the next step in our relationship, just as our love was now in full bloom. He placed me into my bed, tucked me in, and left the room soon afterwards, heading off to bed, and I turned over onto my side as I began crying myself to sleep.

Luke's POV

I sat in my window looking up at the stars while fighting back the tears and I quietly asked of the moon, "Kuso, why must I lose my Momoko, too? Was it not enough to lose Blossom the way I did; must you take Momoko from me too?"

"It's not the moon's fault that Momoko is going away" a small voice said from my doorway and I turned to see Ami, wearing her sleep-shorts and a silk tank-top, standing there with tears in her eyes and Isamu wearing just her lingerie was standing behind her.

I opened my arms to them and, as they ran up to me, we embraced each other before I asked, "Isamu-chan, where are your clothes?"

"I didn't feel like wearing them" Isamu replied simply and I nodded my head in understanding, it was a rather warm night.

"I guess Momoko-chan's asleep by now" Ami noted as she lay across my lap to stare up at the moon sullenly.

"Hai, well, she's leaving for Nihon tomorrow morning, so she needs her rest" Isamu replied for me, though even I could see her turn away to try and subtly wipe a few tears from her eyes.

I reached up and began to stroke her hair. When she finally turned around I pulled her up against me as I knew she was trying to hold back her emotions again; she'd tried to do the same while standing in the cemetery when Blossom was buried.

"Come on, Isamu-chan; just let it all out" I whispered to her and she dropped to her knees to cry against me as we all felt like we were losing our shimai again.

"Is it expensive to live in Japan?" Ami asked as she looked up into my eyes, her cheeks saturated with tears.

"I don't know, but I'm sure it costs just about as much there as it does here" I replied as I reached over and grabbed a box of tissues for the girls to use. "Meanwhile, it's getting late and if you want to come with me and the Professor to the airport to see Momoko off, then you'd best go and get some sleep."

The girls nodded their heads in acceptance of this and, much to my surprise, slid into my bed. As they settled themselves in and began to fall asleep, I set my alarm, grabbed an extra pillow and blanket from the closet, and settled down upon the floor to get some sleep too.

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><p><strong>Carly: *Sniffs* It's too bad that they're being made to separate when they are so much in love.<strong>

**TCW: True. And for those wondering, the song used in this was "Mayonaka-no Door (Midnight's Door)" and the first ending theme from the series; English translation courtesy of: .**

**Carly: Duly noted. So nani is in store for the next chapter?**

**Next time…**

**Momoko: I'm on my way home.**

**Luke: Though not as alone as originally intended.**

**TCW: All this and a whole lot more, coming soon.**

**Carly and Momoko: So kindly leaves us a nice review while you wait!**


	16. Return to Tokyo

**Arigato for the encouraging reviews, friends! Now for a rather bitter-sweet chapter as Momoko must say sayonara to Luke, Ami, and Isamu as she leaves to…**

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><p><strong>Return to Tokyo<strong>

I awoke early the next morning to the sound of someone knocking on my door and looked up as Luke came inside and passed me a change of clothes as well as my overnight bag. While he packed up my bags into the back of Utonium-san's van, I got dressed.

"I wish you had time to join us for breakfast" Ami told me as she and Isamu met me at the door and we each shared a long, firm hug sayonara.

"I…I'll miss you" I said with tears in my eyes before dashing out the door and leapt into the front seat of the van where I began crying.

Luke accompanied me and Utonium-san to the airport much to my surprise. As he unloaded my things onto a cart, I was led inside to the customs office.

"Well, what do you know; on your way back home already?" asked one of the customs officers; one of the same ones from when I first arrived.

"Hey, take a look at this! Looks like someone is trying to carry a weapon onto the airplane" announced another officer as he was examining my luggage and found the miniature buster sword Luke had given me.

"It was a Christmas present" I told them honestly.

"Looks to me like we'd best perform a strip search on this little traveler to make sure she's not carrying some other kind of concealed weapon on her" jeered the first as he grabbed a hold of my wrist.

"Bad idea, guys" whined a third officer as he knelt down behind his desk while pointing to the window.

There, outside the door, stood Blade with his arms crossed and a mean look on his face. My bags were quickly sealed and I was immediately dismissed as their supervisor entered the room.

As I was allowed to head over to the check-in desk, there was the sound of glass shattering and I turned to see two guys being thrown through a window of the customs department and soon the door I had just left out of crashed down to the floor as Blade followed to approach me.

"Would you care to accompany her to Hawaii?" the desk clerk asked nervously.

"Just to make sure she gets there safely" he replied to the woman behind the desk. "The Professor told me to see to it you and your bags are safely put on the plane for Tokyo."

"I'm very glad he did" I replied as I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him.

Within half an hour, during which we shared a sandwich of egg, cheese, and bacon, we were soon called to the gate to meet our flight and were soon boarding the plane, though Blade had to remove his sword from his back to fit through the door. I stared out the window as we were taxiing out onto the runway and soon the word was given for us to take-off.

About an hour later, we touched down at the airport in Hawaii where we departed to meet up with the next flight, which wouldn't arrive for another hour.

"The flight back to Townsville leaves in about thirty minutes and there won't be another one until after 12" I noted to Blade.

"I'll fly back on my own power after I see you to the gate" he told me, with a sigh.

"Is there anything special you'd like to do during our last hour together?" I asked of him with a sniff as I wiped a stray tear from my eye.

"Hai, I just want to sit and hold you" he replied to me as he pulled me down into his lap and I just curled up against him.

I wanted this moment to last, but in very little time, the flight to Tokyo was summoned to the gate.

"I guess this is sayonara" I told him as we stood beside the gate.

"Hai, I can't go any further than this point" he replied.

"I'll miss you" I told him as I was doing my utmost not to cry.

"As I will you" he replied; I could see him struggling not to cry also.

"I'll email you once I get home" I told him as I leaned in towards him.

"I know you will" he replied as our foreheads touched.

"Excuse me, but we must be leaving soon" said a flight attendant quietly.

I started to walk away into the gate when he grabbed a hold of my hand, spun me around, and we shared one final passionate kiss sayonara before sending me away with a gentle love-tap on my o-shiri. I was led to my seat and the attendant gave my shoulder a friendly squeeze before leaving to begin pre-flight preparations.

Blade's POV

I stood there outside the fence, watching as Momoko's plane shot down the runway and took flight. Once it was out of sight, I knelt down on the ground to have a good cry. When airport security came around and stopped to check on me, I ignored them and left for home.

Upon arrival, I found Ami and Isamu sitting on nani had been Momoko's bed, the sheets having been stripped off, and they turned to look at me with hurt in their faces. I opened my arms to them and we all held onto each other as we cried in pain. They had lost their shimai once again, and I lost my heart.

Once we had managed to pull ourselves together, we left out of the room and I locked the door. We then went to sit together in the living room where we turned on the television sullenly.

"Flash: Flight 109 to Tokyo has just reported in having engine trouble and is feared unable to continue its journey to Tokyo. In a desperate attempt, they are turning around to try and return to Honolulu airport, but are not expect to make it!" an announcement rang out on the television.

"That's Momoko's flight, isn't it?" Ami asked in surprise.

"Come on, girls, we're needed!" I told them as I leaped out of my seat and pulled out my buckle/phone while they pulled out their compacts/communicators and we transformed: "Solar Blade" "Tama Berry" "Staccato Barrage".

We then shot off at our top speed. When we arrived to the area in which the plane should have been found, we began to search the area frantically.

"There it is!" Berry called out once she spotted the plane and indicated it to us.

"They're too low to the water" Barrage noted and we all quickly dove down to catch the plane.

"I've got the nose, you two take the wings" I instructed and we quickly took our places, with me pushing the nose up away from the water while my shimai-tachi lifted the wings to help the aircraft to gain some altitude.

Once we had it up and away from danger, Berry called in to ask, "Which is closer, Japan or Hawaii?"

"This flight was on its way to Tokyo, so I say we take it there" Barrage replied.

"Tokyo it is then" I replied and we carried the plane on to Japan.

To say we were sore when once we set the plane down would have been a major understatement, but still we were treated with much fan-fare as we arrived.

Momoko's POV

Once the plane was down on the ground and we were permitted to disembark, I ran to the window in time to see Blade hovering there with his hand placed against it. I placed my hand upon the window and lightly smiled as I could feel the tears starting to fall once again. His own smile faded and he soon lifted away to return home with Berry and Barrage at his side.

I started to leave out of the airport when a shadow fell upon me and I looked up to see the Powerpuff Girls fighting with another Robo-Jojo and it was falling down upon me.

Blade's POV

I looked back for a quick moment and saw the giant mechanized monstrosity falling and turned to fly back as I pulled out my sword while griping, "Man, we just can't catch a break!"

"Oh for the love of…" Barrage started to say when even she realized that our help was needed further.

"Iie time like the present" Berry added in as she called forth her ball and charged it up as it turned pink before calling out, "Gum Ball."

She spiked her ball at the giant robot and it splattered the thing with pink goo, freezing and holding the mech in place before returning to Berry's hands.

"Looks like one of those other girls has managed to remove Momoko from the line of danger, Blade; so do it to it!" Barrage informed me as I powered up my sword.

"Crescent Blade" I called out as I swung my sword to release a crescent-shaped blade of energy which sliced the robot in half and caused it to explode; the shrapnel being caught by the sticky goo from Berry's Gum Ball attack, though the head of the robot blasted away.

"Daijobu, girls, let's go home; I don't feel like crying like a baby on national television" I then told the girls despite the fact that I could see Momoko reaching her hand out to me.

We bowed to the people cheering from down on the ground below and soon after left for home.

Momoko's POV

I was in Buttercup's arms when I noticed Blade, Berry, and Barrage attacking Mojo Jojo's robot. Once they had managed to destroy it and Blade's eye met mine, I reached out to him hopefully, but he looked away; I could see the tears in his eyes.

He left with his shimai-tachi and I felt like my heart had just been shattered into a billion pieces. I turned to Buttercup and began crying into her shoulder.

"Are you alright, Momoko-chan?" I heard Bubbles ask of me, but I was just too heart-broken to reply as they set me back down on the ground.

Once I had managed to pull myself back together, I met my father who led me to the car and drove me to the hospital to see Kuriko. Mom met me at the door to Kuriko's room but I walked right past her to stand beside Kuriko. I took her hand into my own and just held onto her hand while letting my thumb rub the back of her hand.

The isha entered the room and paused to look at me as I leaned down and kissed Kuriko on the forehead as her eyes began to flutter open for the first time since she lost consciousness.

"Never underestimate the power of an oneesan" I heard him utter as he looked over her charts, compared them against her current readouts, and turned to smile at me. "I don't know nani you did, but keep doing it."

"Oneechan, why are you crying?" I just barely heard Kuriko ask through her breathing mask.

"I'm just happy to see you doing so much better" I replied to her in half-truth; I was relieved, but I was also still feeling heart-broken over being taken away from Luke's loving arms. "You just get some rest and feel better now; daijobu?"

She nodded her head in agreement and closed her eyes to sleep some more while I sat down in the chair beside her bed, keeping her hand in my own, and leaned my head down upon the bed to have a good, long cry. As I sat there I realized something: whoever it was that had struck Kuriko was also the person responsible for forcing me into leaving Luke. I silently swore vengeance at that point.

Kuriko did indeed improve and within another week was allowed to return home, though she couldn't walk; she could feel her legs and everything, but the isha didn't think she'd ever have the strength to walk again. Her first night home, she asked to be allowed to join me in my room and I agreed, snuggling up with her in bed to get some sleep.

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><p><strong>Carly: Well, at least Kuriko was able to leave the hospital.<strong>

**TCW: True.**

**Carly: So nani is in store for the next chapter?**

**Next time…**

**Momoko: I'm given a welcome home party by my friends, but don't feel much like celebrating.**

**TCW: All this and more coming soon as we begin Part 2.**

**Carly and Momoko: In the meantime, leave us some nice reviews onegai!**


	17. Part 2 & Missing Him

**Thank you for the fantastic reviews! And next we will begin the next part of this massive story with…**

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><p><strong>Part 2: Home Again<strong>

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><p><strong>Missing Him<strong>

It felt strange to find myself awaking in my room here in Tokyo instead of my room back in Townsville. When I walked downstairs, I almost expect to be greeted by Luke, Ami, Isamu, and Utonium-san, but would instead find myself being greeted by my parents as Mom passed me a breakfast tray to take up to Kuriko.

I did not mind helping to take care of Kuriko, but many times I would find myself thinking of the friends I had to leave behind and wind up crying. I was sitting in the o-furo one evening, lightly crying, when my mother entered the room and began to massage my shoulders.

"He must've really been a special guy for you to be crying over him like this" she noted to me quietly.

"He was" I replied with a sniff.

"Did he at least love you as much as you loved him?" Mom then asked, knowing of my previous boy-crazy habits.

"Hai, he even promised to propose to me after we graduated high school, but now…that will…never happen" I said as I buried my face into the palms of my hands and began sobbing heavily.

She then wrapped her arms around me in a warm embrace, but I didn't feel comforted the way I did when it was Luke who had embraced me. This was just maternal comfort…it wasn't the same to me.

Kaarii, Miyako, Kaoru, the Professor, Ken, and Peach had invited me to the lab for a 'Welcome Home' party but when I arrived, I looked up at the sky and decided to sit down in the grass. I brought my knees up to my chest and wrapped my arms around them, sadly remembering my last evening with my new friends as we had watched the fireflies. Slowly looking up at the many stars in the sky overhead; wondering if by any small chance Luke was also looking up at the very same stars as a song came to mind:

_Somewhere out there beneath the pale moonlight_

_Someone's thinking of me and loving me tonight_

(Luke, back in Townsville)

_Somewhere out there someone's saying a prayer_

_That we'll find one another in that big somewhere out there_

_And even though I know how very far apart we are_

_It helps to think we might be wishing on the same bright star_

(Momoko)

_And when the night wind starts to sing a lonesome lullaby_

_It helps to think we're sleeping underneath the same big sky_

(Luke and Momoko)

_Somewhere out there if love can see us through_

_Then we'll be together somewhere out there_

_Out where dreams come true_

(Luke)

_And even though I know how very far apart we are_

_It helps to think we might be wishing on the same bright star_

(Momoko)

_And when the night wind starts to sing a lonesome lullaby_

_It helps to think we're sleeping underneath the same big sky_

(Momoko and Luke)

_Somewhere out there if love can see us through_

_Then we'll be together somewhere out there_

_Out where dreams come true_

"Hey, want to talk about it?" asked Miyako quietly as she and Kaoru approached and sat down on either side of me and Kaarii, next to Miyako.

I confessed everything to them. I told them of my fear of the new country, of Luke, and of my disorientation with the customs. I told them of how Ami and Isamu came to revere me as their sister and why. I then told them of how both Luke and I fell in love with each other, "…and now I will never see him again" I finished as I began crying heavily once more, burying my face into my arms and knees.

"If there is one thing life has taught me, Momoko-chan, it is that if things are meant to be then some way or another they will happen. If you and Luke are meant to be a couple, then somehow, some way, you two will be reunited and you will declare your love to one another. After all, I have my Taka-chan now" Miyako said with a smile as she stared at the ring on her finger; she and Takaaki had gotten engaged during the year I'd been gone.

"I kind of know how you feel, Momoko-chan, whenever I think of how I had to leave Chico behind, it hurts" Kaarii confessed then began to sing a song to help further comfort me and to try and provide a little comfort to herself:

_Summer love isn't meant to be  
>And it's only fantasy<br>That's what everyone's telling me  
>Stay my baby<em>

_Even though it's a little rushed__  
><em>_Let me know that you'll keep in touch__  
><em>_If you don't it'll hurt too much__  
><em>_Stay my baby_

_Ooh-ooh Tell me right now__  
><em>_Ooh-ooh How it's going down_

_Everything will be okay__  
><em>_Everything will be alright__  
><em>_I know that it will go my way__  
><em>_If you stay my baby (stay my baby)__  
><em>_I'm never gonna give you up__  
><em>_I'm never gonna have enough__  
><em>_So now 'til forever__  
><em>_Stay my baby (stay my baby)_

_Now that I've gone back to school__  
><em>_All I do is think of you__  
><em>_Sitting up here in my room__  
><em>_Going crazy_

_But then you call__  
><em>_Gets me through it all__  
><em>_Every time I hear you say__  
><em>_Stay my baby_

_Everything will be okay__  
><em>_Everything will be alright__  
><em>_I know that it will go my way__  
><em>_If you stay my baby (stay my baby)__  
><em>_I'm never gonna give you up__  
><em>_I'm never gonna have enough__  
><em>_So now 'til forever__  
><em>_Stay my baby (stay my baby)_

_Stay my baby - Stay my baby (Oh-oh oh-oh)__  
><em>_Stay my baby - Stay my baby_

_Tell me right now__  
><em>_How it's going down_

_Everything will be okay__  
><em>_Everything will be alright__  
><em>_I know that it will go my way__  
><em>_If you stay my baby (stay my baby)__  
><em>_I'm never gonna give you up__  
><em>_I'm never gonna have enough__  
><em>_So now 'til forever__  
><em>_Stay my baby (stay my baby)_

_Stay my baby (Stay my baby)__  
><em>_Stay my baby (Stay my baby)__  
><em>_Stay my baby__  
><em>_No, I'm never gonna give you up__  
><em>_I'm never gonna have enough__  
><em>_So now 'til forever__  
><em>_Stay my baby__  
><em>_Stay my baby_

I did my best to take their words to heart. In the end, nani had been intended to be a gala party, ended as a quiet evening of staring up at the stars. We soon rose up and left after bidding each other oyasumi nasai and walked home.

As I walked home, a group of five boys jumped out of an alley way and began to drag me back into it with them.

"Well, boys, looks like we're going to get that chance to some 'fun' with a poor, little, defenseless girl after all" jeered the group's leader and I turned to stare up into the faces of Ace and the Gang Green Gang.

"Try it and it will be the last thing you ever do" I threatened as I glared up at them and slowly reached behind me to grasp the mini buster sword that was hanging from my belt; something that I had taken to carrying with me at all times as it was my only link back to Luke.

At that they made a grab for me and I snatched my sword from its sheath and slashed Ace across his chest before dropping to slide between his legs, slamming the pommel of my weapon into his personals.

Watching as their bloodied leader fell to his knees and gasped for breath while holding onto himself, the rest of the Gang Green Gang decided to give me plenty of room as they cleared to stand with their backs against the walls of the alley. I then returned my sword to its sheath, turned, and walked away, feeling proud of myself that I had learned a little self-defense while away in America, though I still felt as though I had left my heart behind when I left.

When I got home, I walked right past my parents, barely noticing them, and headed up to my room where I shed every stitch of clothing and slid into my bed where I lightly cried myself to sleep.

After I got dressed the next morning, I stopped in to check Kuriko to find her still asleep and left out the door without stopping to get any breakfast; I just was not in the mood for idle conversation with my parents that morning.

While out walking through town, there was a summons for the Powerpuff Girls Z, but I ignored it as I did not feel much like fighting that morning either. I walked over to the observation tower and took the elevator to the top floor and, as iie one else was there yet, climbed up to sit on the roof with my jacket tightly bound around me to block out the cold as I sat down to stare off into the distance, silently hoping and praying to get even the smallest glances of the American shoreline.

After a few hours, I was beginning to feel hungry as well as depressed and so transformed into my other persona. As Hyper Blossom, I then jumped off of the roof and let myself free fall, much to the shock and horror of all onlookers, taking flight at the last second to gently land upon the ground and shot all bystanders a dirty look before walking away with my hands shoved deep into my vest pockets.

I entered the ramen shop where that little ramen monster still lives, helping his master to sell their merchandise. The little fellow must have sensed my melancholic mood as he left me alone while I ate my noodles in peace. I then paid my bill and left, feeling slightly refreshed as I lifted off into the air and headed for the park. Unfortunately, Bridgette, Buttercup, and Bubbles were already there.

I had just lain down in the sun to get some rest when three shadows blocked my light. I looked up to see Bubbles staring down at me in concern and wonderment, Bridgette gazing down upon me with a sassy look in her eyes and her arms crossed, and Buttercup doing the same but in annoyance and frustration.

"And just where have you been; we've been busting our o-shiri-tachi trying to fight a monster and you just now decide to show up after the battle _after we've already handled it_" Bridgette steamed down at me in her usual sassy tone of voice.

"Bite me" I replied in straight Ei-go as I closed my eyes and lay back down in the grass.

Bridgette looked down at me in pure shock at nani I had just said to her, when Bubbles decided to try a more calm approach, "Blossom, we know you're going through a tough time dealing with heart-ache, but we still rely on you to be there to help us in battle."

"Gomen, but according to the contract signed by the Professor and the mayor, Blossom is on a two year vacation; year one has come and gone, and now I am going to enjoy year two as much as I possibly can, so go tell someone who gives a damn" I replied firmly.

"That's it, I don't care who you are or nani some contract says, we are not going to stand here and put up with your mouthing off just because you had to leave your boyfriend behind" Buttercup shouted angrily.

I stood up and turned around to face her as pure aggression began to fill me, and, with tears in my eyes, shouted back, "Un well at least I had a boyfriend who truly cared about me; nani is your damned excuse" and I slapped her hard across the face; knocking her to the ground as she clutched her cheek and did her best to bite back the tears.

"Blossom, onegai, there's iie need for such violence" Bubbles chastised me as she knelt down beside Buttercup.

"Blow it out your ear" I returned to Bubbles and stopped myself just in time as I was about to slap her as well, settling for walking away from them to be alone once more.

As Bubbles and Bridgette watched me walk away, Buttercup whined, "I didn't know she could hit that hard" and caused Bubbles to turn back to aid her.

"Take it easy, we'll put some ice on it once we get back to the lab. Looks like you're still our team-leader, Bridgette-chan" Bubbles informed them quietly.

When I returned home, I changed back into my normal form and went to check up on Kuriko, only to find her missing from her bed. I went in search of her and found her asleep on my bed. There was a small note from Mom on my desk that said Kuriko had wanted to sleep in my room and I smiled as I turned back to stare at her. I then removed most of my clothes and joined her, pulling her up against me as I nodded off while holding fast to her.

We woke up a couple of hours later and sat up in my bed to talk about America.

"Nani do you mean you can't go back?" Kuriko asked of me disappointedly.

"Neither Mom, Dad, nor the school board can afford to send me back. They could only afford two tickets; one for going and one for returning. I wasn't supposed to use the return ticket for another year, but when you were injured, I just had to return to do whatever I could to help" I told her with a sigh as I hugged her against me.

"Gomen nasai, Momoko-chan, I really tried to get out of the way of that car, but it was just moving too quickly" Kuriko apologized as she began crying into my chest.

"I know you did, shush now" I consoled her as I began rocking her in my lap.

Later at dinner, we all ate quietly, each of us occasionally looking up to make sure Kuriko was doing alright.

"Papa, did they ever catch the person who struck me with their car?" Kuriko asked after a while, looking to dad hopefully.

"Nani was that?" I asked, suddenly filled with shock after hearing Kuriko's question.

"Iie, honey, they're still looking for the person, but are holding little hope of finding them" Dad replied and I couldn't help but feel a strong hatred towards the incompetent police filling the pit of my stomach.

"After you finish your meal, Kuriko, you need to take your bath" Mom instructed her quietly.

"Hai; Momoko-chan, would you take and join me?" Kuriko asked and I nodded my head in agreement; she couldn't walk due to some spinal and muscular injury.

We left for the furoba and after scrubbing up and rinsing off, we sat in the o-furo together, with Kuriko leaning her head against my shoulder.

"Kuriko-chan, do you remember anything about the car that struck you?" I asked of her after a while.

"Big…long…purple" she muttered as she began to drift off to sleep and I pulled her into my lap to keep her from drowning in the water.

"The Shirogane-san's limousine" I muttered under my breath as I tried to bite back tears of aggression as I looked down into my imoto's sweet face.

Mom came into the room after a while and helped me in getting Kuriko out of the o-furo, dried off, and dressed when I turned around and did the same for myself while secretly vowing to gain justice for the wrong done to Kuriko.

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><p><strong>Carly: So now that Momoko knows who the guilty party is, nani is she going to do?<strong>

**TCW: Good question and the answer to that question and more is coming soon!**

**Carly: So nani is in store for the next chapter?**

**Next time…**

**Momoko: Should I exact revenge or seek justice upon the Shirogane family?**

**Secret person: I'll help you to decide on that one!**

**TCW: Who is this mystery person? Stay tuned to find out.**

**Carly: Meanwhile, leave us some nice reviews please.**

**Author's Note: Songs used were "Somewhere Out There" by James Ingram and Linda Ronstadt; and "Stay My Baby" by Miranda Cosgrove. Both can be found on YouTube.**


	18. Vengeance or Justice

**Domo arigato for all of the terrific reviews, everyone! For this chapter, we join Momoko as she must decide whether to seek…**

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><p><strong>Vengeance or Justice<strong>

The next morning, while getting dressed, I received another call to battle but decided to ignore the summons. Instead, I transformed and flew over to the Shirogane mansion and reverted back just before I rang the doorbell. While waiting for someone to answer the door, I silently mulled over nani process I would use to interrogate them: should I be accusatory or try to coax the truth from them? I decided to play it cool at first and try to coax them out of the information.

"Hai, and whom, may I ask, are you?" inquired the family's butler.

"I am Akatsutsumi Momoko and I wish to speak with Himeko-sama" I said with a polite bow, doing my best to show proper respect even though I really wanted to slit the man's throat as I forced myself to refuse reaching for the sword on my belt.

"Just a moment while I summon my young mistress" the butler said as he allowed me entrance into the genkan where two maids made me remove my shoes and socks before washing my feet and setting a clean pair of socks upon my feet; again I had to resist the urge to slit some throats.

"Momoko-chan, I didn't think I would see you again for at least another year! Nani brings you back so soon?" Himeko inquired of me as she hospitably led me into the main sitting room where one of her maids was placing a tea service onto the table.

"I was called to return early to help out with my imouto. She…was struck by a speeding car recently" I explained after taking a sip of tea.

"Really; that's terrible! How is she doing, is she recovering well?" Himeko replied with genuine concern, though I could have sworn I saw a glimmer of panic cross her face briefly.

"Hai, she's home now but she has to stay in bed to finish healing…though she may never be able to walk again" I told her.

"It's good to hear that she's home, but I'm awfully sorry about her not being able to walk. Do you know if they found the person responsible for the accident?" Himeko inquired innocently, she had that panicky look on her face again.

"Iie, the person who struck her didn't stop and she has only recently been able to recall any kind of detail of the vehicle" I replied slowly as I was doing my best to keep my temper in check.

"Did you take this to the police?" Himeko asked, visible beads of sweat upon her brow, and I found myself quickly losing control.

"Himeko, I was informed that the vehicle was big, long, and purple. There is only _one_ vehicle locally that matches that description and that is _your_ limousine. Now onegai, tell me straight and honestly, did your driver strike down my imouto?" I returned after setting my tea cup down so as not to accidentally break it.

Himeko then broke out in tears, sobbing quite heavily, when she told me, "Iie, it wasn't one of my drivers…it was ME! I was learning how to drive, trying to control my speed and failing miserably. I saw her step out into the intersection but couldn't remember where the brake pedal was and accidentally stepped on the accelerator. I struck her and became so afraid that I kept going; sumimasen…sumimasen!"

She'd confessed to me the whole thing. Part of me wanted to run her down with her own car, another part wanted to slap her till her face bled, and another, smaller, part of me wanted to forgive her. I rose up and began to walk out of the room as I felt my anger and hatred growing. She had almost taken from me that which was most dear to me, had pulled me away from Luke, and now all I wanted was revenge.

I returned home, keeping Himeko's confession to myself, and went up to Kuriko's room where we played together till evening came. I then went to the high hill that overlooked the Shirogane mansion and began plotting my revenge.

I noticed a large branch and two flint stones sitting on the ground, picked them up, and decided that arson would make for a good way to get even.

As I approached the mansion a voice rang out in my head, 'And just nani do you think you are doing?'

I turned and looked around myself in annoyance while asking, "Who said that?"

'I did, my name is Blossom' the voice replied as I turned about to try to find the person.

"Daijobu now, that's not funny, show yourself if you've got the nerve" I demanded, still casting glances about me.

'Moshi-moshi, I'm in your head, Momoko' the voice informed me and I gave pause at this.

"Are you trying to say that you're my conscious or something?" I asked in annoyance.

'Iie, I'm Blossom, the dead girl whose room you slept in and who used to be Luke's girlfriend till he met you' the voice replied and I dropped the branch and stones I had picked up to use as a torch. 'Two wrongs don't make a right, remember? That's what you told Isamu, my shimai, when she told Luke to quit threatening the Rowdyruff Boys and to kill them. Nani you want is justice, not vengeance, so take the information you've learned to the police and let them take over from there.'

"Daijobu, let's say you are who you say you are; nani are you doing inside of me instead of sitting pretty in Heaven?" I asked as I did my best to steady my nerves; the idea of having someone's spirit inside of me was unnerving.

'I asked to be transferred into you so that I could help my family to learn the truth and bring Butch to justice for so much innocent bloodshed. Of course, the end result was anything but nani I had intended, but hey, whatever works. Anyway, I had thought they would have allowed me to pass out of you to return to Heaven, but they reminded me that I had to help you first' Blossom informed me.

"How do I know you're telling me the truth?" I asked smartly.

'Nani, do you think you found my diary by mistake; do you think you found my notebook by accident? Heck iie; I subconsciously made you find them so that I could go back over my research to see where I went wrong. The only thing that you _weren't _supposed to do was to let Ami read my diary so that mine and Luke's intimate moments wouldn't be revealed to them; they were _supposed_ to be a secret. But the end result proved beneficial in the long run' Blossom replied as I decided to return back to the hill.

"Then was it me that Luke fell in love with, or was it you that he was detecting and so made love to me so as to make love to you?" I asked of her sadly.

'Iie that was entirely you that he was, and still is, in love with. He's currently doing his best to find some way to either bring you back to him or to return to you, Momoko. Every moment he's apart from you burns in his heart as though someone were setting fiery coals upon him' Blossom informed me quietly.

"And nani about you; you can't tell me you don't love him just as much" I told her in confidence.

'You're right, I do still love him, but I can't have or touch him anymore, so I must let go of him until such point in time as he joins me up there' Blossom confessed sadly.

"So nani do I do about this?" I then asked indicating the mansion.

'Nani does your heart tell you to do?' she inquired in return.

"Tell Himeko's parents and let them know that I'm taking her confession to the police" I replied with a sigh.

'Then that's nani you need to do. I can't help you anymore, Momoko, so from here on, you're on your own…good luck and find your heart' Blossom said in finality and I felt something pass out of me.

I then walked to the door of the mansion, but just as I began to reach up to knock on it, the door already opened and Himeko was being directed by her father.

"Momoko-chan, I am truly sorry for nani Himeko did to your imouto. Onegai inform your parents that not only are we seeing to Himeko's punishment, but, if they would be so kind as to send us the bills, we will happily pay for your imouto's medical expenses" Shirogane-san told me as he led her to an awaiting police car.

When he returned, I told him, "I'll have my father call you to handle things personally."

My parents and the Shirogane-san-tachi went to court where it was ruled with Himeko guilty as she didn't even attempt to defend herself. The Shirogane family was made to pay Kuriko's medical expenses, both current and future ones, to which they made no objections, while Himeko went to prison for four years.

It was a small victory for Kuriko and you'd think I'd have been happy, but I wasn't. I still had yet to find a way back to Luke's arms and it made me feel downright miserable.

**Carly: Do you think she'll ever find happiness ever again?**

**TCW: Eventually, but it's going to take some time.**

**Carly: So nani is in store for the next chapter?**

**Next time…**

**Momoko: We're pausing in the story to see how Luke and his sisters are getting along.**

**Ami: Is there any way we can make him happy again?**

**Isamu: I don't know, but at this point I'm willing to try anything.**

**TCW: All this and more coming soon!**

**Carly and Momoko: Meanwhile, how about leaving us some nice reviews…Onegai!**


	19. A Solution to His Problem

**Arigato for all of the encouraging reviews, friends! And for this next chapter, we will be told the story through Ami's POV as we learn of…**

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><p><strong>A Solution to His Problem<strong>

To say that everything was peaches and cream with us would have been a major overstatement. Truth be told, that while it was nice that Luke let us join in the battle now, he was never really the same.

Luke still fought with fiery passion but when the smoke would clear and he would turn back to us, his smile would always leave and melancholy would take over.

One day, after a hard battle, we stopped off at Hardees for lunch when Princess would once again rear her ugly head.

"Well, well, well, it looks like you finally wised up and dumped that lousy little Japanese slut" Princess jeered as she stepped up to stand behind Luke.

Having just finished, we all rose up and tried to silently leave, but Princess would follow as she continued bad-mouthing Momoko, "Now that that little tramp is gone, maybe you can I could get a little more comfortable together."

Isamu and I looked at each other once we saw Luke pause with a burning anger in his eyes and turned around to face her as he said, "Speaking of dumping someone…" The next thing we knew he planted Princess, head first, into a full trash can before turning back to us and leading us out the door.

A bunch of people ran forward and pulled her out, leaving the wig she was still wearing inside the trash can, and she screamed out, "MY HAIR!"

I wanted to inquire of him as to the level of cruelty that his actions displayed, but Isamu silenced me by placing her index finger in front of her lips to signal silence.

We rode home together on Luke's Kawasaki and, upon arrival home, we were sent up to take our baths. Having since heard about how Momoko usually takes her baths, Isamu and I liked to share our baths in a similar manner.

We were kneeling in the bathtub, scrubbing ourselves when Luke entered, noticed us, and picked up a washcloth which he then began going over our backs. Isamu and I were a bit uncomfortable with this at first, but we quickly gave in to the idea as Luke held iie more of a smile than a parent with the chore of bathing their child.

Once Luke left, we rinsed ourselves off and began getting dried off as we decided to have a talk about him, "Luke sure is depressed lately."

"Hai, but nani can we do about it? It's not like we can find another Blossom or Momoko for him to fall in love with" Isamu noted to me.

"Well, maybe we can help him to forget about them and look to…one of us?" I offered and watched Isamu's face for a reaction.

"So nani are you suggesting? That we sleep with him or something?" Isamu asked of me in slight disbelief.

"It's a thought" I replied with a shrug.

"I don't know; let's save that one for a last resort. I wonder how much it costs to rent an apartment in Tokyo" Isamu pondered as she sat down on the edge of the tub and tossed her towel into the hamper without getting dressed.

"We could always look it up on the Professor's computer; how much do you have saved up?" I inquired as I also threw my towel into the hamper without getting dressed.

"I've got about 6 grand in the bank; you?" Isamu replied.

"I've got about 6500" I told her.

"Well, I'm sure Luke has a lot more than that stored in the bank. Could you toss me my pajamas; we can then go ask to borrow the Prof's computer for our research" Isamu added and, after handing her pajamas over to her, we got dressed and left out of the bathroom.

"Professor, can Isamu and I use your computer to do a little research?" I asked as we walked into the living room.

"Sure, is there anything I can help you girls with?" the Professor asked of us genially.

"Well, since you asked… We're thinking that since we can't come up with a way to bring Momoko back here, that maybe we'd move to an apartment in Japan" I then explained to him and the Professor's face fell.

"We know you'd miss us if we did leave, but this is more of a way to help Luke to get back together with Momoko" Isamu explained sympathetically and the Professor nodded his head in agreement.

"He has been melancholic lately, hasn't he? Alright, I'll help you" the Professor replied as he rose up and led us to his computer where we began our research.

After an hour's search, the Professor came back with some unfortunate news, "It's not going to be easy girls; even the cheapest apartment with the most modest accommodations is expensive."

"Hey, here's an idea: how much do they ask for student dorms or something along that line" Isamu asked while hanging upside down on the couch, her bare feet draped over the back.

"Hmm, let me take a look" he replied as he turned back to his computer.

In the meantime, I went over and sat on Isamu's lower legs and tickled her feet relentlessly; Luke had always threatened to do just this whenever she sat that way.

I had her on the verge of peeing herself when the Professor announced, "It would cost a little less, but it will still cost quite a bit."

"There's got to be something we can do to help Luke" I replied with a sigh as even I began feeling depressed.

Isamu slid out from under me and said, "Un, there's something we can do, but I'm not too sure if I feel comfortable doing it. And even then we don't know if it will work."

"What's she talking about?" inquired the Professor since Isamu had to run to the oteari.

"Well, it was our thought that if we couldn't bring Luke to Momoko, since we can't bring her here, that one of us would attempt to…sleep with him…so as to get his mind off of her" I replied sheepishly with a strong blush in my cheeks.

"I don't think that's the answer" he noted as he crossed his arms in thought. "Have you tried taking your idea of moving to Tokyo up with him?"

"Not yet, we wanted it to be a surprise" I confessed as Isamu re-entered the room.

"Well, I really think you should try taking it up with him before trying to sleep with him" noted the Professor and both mine and Isamu's cheeks turned bright red.

Just then Luke entered through the front door, having left to do some thinking once he had finished getting us cleaned up, and looked at us all in questioning, "Something going on that I should know about; and why are your cheeks so red, girls?"

"Actually, I'm glad you're home now, there's something we want to talk to you about" I said as I regained my composure.

"Can it wait until morning; I'm kind of tired" he said as he began to head for the stairs.

"It's either talk about it now, or you're taking me to bed with you" Isamu said firmly with a horizontal thumb-jerk towards herself and we all slowly turned to stare at her in surprise.

"Isamu…" I asked of her in surprise.

"It was kind of spur of the moment" she replied with a strong blush in her cheeks.

"You now have my full, undivided attention" Luke answered as he turned around and sat down upon one of the stairs.

"We want to move to Tokyo and we'd like you to come with us. Only problem is our financial situation would only allow us to stay for maybe a year" I informed him though I still stared at Isamu in disbelief.

"Actually, I was already thinking of doing just that, but I was wondering whether or not to bring you girls along with me" Luke told us with the first genuine smile we'd seen on him since we had to leave Momoko behind in Tokyo.

"Nani about the Professor?" Isamu then asked.

"I'm sorry but my home and job are here; but don't let that stop you from going. I could always reattempt the 'Perfect Little Girl' experiment if I get lonely" the Professor replied and we all nodded our heads in agreement.

We all soon turned in for the night, with me and Isamu climbing into bed with Luke, though we did wear our underclothes since it was a rather warm night.

A couple days later, we had our passports filled out, inoculations and plane tickets received, and our things packed, including one large wooden crate which neither Isamu nor I knew nani the contents of it were. We then helped the Professor in duplicating his great experiment and welcomed into the world three new Powerpuff Girls: Bell, Bloom, and Bonbon. We showed them the ropes and the following weekend, we left for Tokyo, Japan.

"Well, I sure am going to miss you three" noted the Professor as he helped us unload our luggage from the back of the van.

"We'll come back and visit" I told him with a sniff as I hugged him before turning to hug each of our new little shimai-tachi in turn.

"You'd better" Bonbon replied as she and Isamu were sharing a hug.

"Sayonara, oniichan, Ami-chan, Isamu-chan" said Bell with tears in her eyes as she waved to us; of the trio, she was the one who showed the most interest in learning Japanese, so Luke gave her all of his books and software that would teach her the language.

"Here, keep a hold of this for me as I'll return for it one day" Luke told her as he kissed her on the forehead and placed a white tanto into her hands before joining me and Isamu as we passed through the gate to meet our plane.

We boarded our plane after passing through customs, with little trouble as Luke glared at the men until two women entered the room to go over me and Isamu, which surprised us until the supervisor entered the room and explained, "I decided to take your advice and hire some ladies to help out with female passengers, Luke."

"Glad to see that" Luke replied as we were all dismissed to catch our plane bound for Honolulu, Hawaii and then on to Tokyo.

"I suppose we're going to have to either rent or buy a car once we get there" Isamu noted to us while on our way to Tokyo.

"Iie, we won't, we're just going to have to get some oil, transmission fluid, and gas" Luke replied with a smile.

Isamu and I then turned to each other and giggled together as we had been wondering nani was in that one large crate that Luke had brought along with us and currently sitting in the cargo hold: it was his Kawasaki. It seemed rather fitting if you ask me: a Japanese-made vehicle being used in its home land.

We were met by the school board upon arrival in Japan and were soon being shown the way to the local mechanic shop with some questioning looks. While Luke went inside to purchase the items he needed, Isamu and I opened the crate amidst many nods and smiles from the administrators once they saw its contents.

After we finished unpacking the motorcycle and Luke had put the necessary fluids into it, he started the engine which purred to life and received many more smiles and nods from the administrators. Isamu and I then unpacked the side-car and trailer which Luke carefully attached and our luggage was moved into these while Isamu and I mounted the back of the bike.

We were then escorted to our apartment where we instantly got to work unpacking.

"I guess we'll have to go shopping tomorrow" I noted to Luke as I opened the refrigerator to find it completely empty, but clean.

"We're also going to need an extra bed" Isamu noted as she returned from the two bedrooms; there was only one bed.

"So we'll just have to share the one for the time being" Luke replied with a shrug as we began unpacking our luggage.

Once finished, we decided to go out to get some dinner and to do a little sightseeing. As the sun was setting we pulled up in front of this cute little confectionary store and entered to have some sweets as dessert. While sitting there, three girls entered the store and approached the counter. One of them resembled Isamu and the other could have easily been my twin if not for the fact that her pigtails were much longer than mine. But the third girl looked like iie one we knew, but we decided to let it go. As Luke paid the bill, the three seemed to give pause to notice us, but also decided to let it go as we left to return to our apartment.

After getting cleaned up, Luke sent an email home to the Professor letting him know that we had arrived and were settled into our apartment. As he signed off, Isamu and I removed our clothes and climbed into bed as it was quite hot that night and we had iie air conditioning to use. Luke turned on the overhead fan and soon joined us, but in his pajamas as we all curled up together to fall asleep.

The next morning, we went shopping and purchased all of the necessities we would need, including an extra bedroom set of furniture. After the furniture had been delivered and set up, we all went out for dinner again before returning home to get cleaned up and some sleep; school would begin in the morning.

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><p><strong>Carly: So now that they're in Tokyo, how much longer until Luke and Momoko meet once again?<strong>

**TCW: Hopefully not too much longer.**

**Carly: That's good. So nani is in store for the next chapter?**

**Next time…**

**Kaarii: School begins once again!**

**Kaoru: Oh joy…**

**Miyako: But we have new students joining us in our homeroom.**

**Momoko: Just leave me alone.**

**Kaarii: Boy, I hope you pull out of this melancholic demeanor soon!**

**TCW: All this and a whole LOT more coming soon.**

**Carly and Momoko: Meanwhile, onegai, leave us some nice reviews!**


	20. School Begins, Again

**Domo arigato for the many reviews, friends! Before we begin this next chapter, I just want to say that I do not own any part of the song used in this chapter. And now that that has been said, let's rejoin Momoko and her friends as…**

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><p><strong>School Begins, Again<strong>

It was almost a month until we would be returning to school, I had yet to make up with my friends, and I was still doing my best to keep Kuriko's mind occupied so that she couldn't focus on the fact that she would probably never walk again.

And despite all of this, I was still unhappy as I had been unsuccessful in finding a way to return to Luke's arms. I would spend my days playing with Kuriko and my nights crying myself to sleep.

My parents suggested I try hooking back up with Sakamoto, but after our last blow out, I wouldn't date him even if my life depended on it.

~Flashback~

I was standing in front of my locker, spinning the combination when Sakamoto walked behind me with a devious smile on his face, but I paid him little mind as he knew that I was at my wits' end with him and his practical jokes. Yet sure enough, just as soon as I opened my locker, a water balloon/bomb exploded in my face, drenching me from head to toe and all I could do was stand there trying not to cry while he began laughing his head off.

"Oh man, Momoko-chan, you are just such an easy target" he said while in a state of hysterics, clutching his stomach, and rolling on the floor.

I turned and glared at him when I remembered a song that I thought was perfect for telling him off:

_I should have known by the way you passed me by  
>There was something in your eyes and it wasn't right<br>I should have walked but I never had the chance  
>Everything got out of hand and I let it slide<em>

_Now I only have myself to blame for falling for your stupid games_  
><em>I wish my life could be the way it was before I saw your face<em>

_You stole my happy, you made me cry_  
><em>Took the lonely and took me for a ride<em>  
><em>And I wanna uh-uh-uh-uh-uh-undo it<em>  
><em>You had my heart, now I want it back<em>  
><em>I'm starting to see everything you lack<em>  
><em>Boy, you blew it, you put me through it<em>  
><em>I wanna uh-uh-uh-uh-uh-undo it<em>

_Na, na, na, na, na_  
><em>Na, na, na, na, na<em>  
><em>Na, na, na, na, na, na<em>

_Now your photos don't have a picture frame_  
><em>And I never say your name and I never will<em>  
><em>And all your things, well I threw them in the trash<em>  
><em>And I'm not even sad<em>

_Now you only have yourself to blame for playing all those stupid games_  
><em>You're always gonna be the same and, oh no, you'll never change<em>

_You stole my happy, you made me cry_  
><em>Took the lonely and took me for a ride<em>  
><em>And I wanna uh-uh-uh-uh-uh-undo it<em>  
><em>You had my heart, now I want it back<em>  
><em>I'm starting to see everything you lack<em>  
><em>Boy, you blew it, you put me through it<em>  
><em>I wanna uh-uh-uh-uh-uh-undo it<em>

_Na, na, na, na, na_  
><em>Na, na, na, na, na<em>  
><em>Na, na, na, na, na, na<em>

_You want my future, you can't have it_  
><em>I'm still trying to erase you from my past<em>  
><em>I need you gone so fast<em>

_You stole my happy, you made me cry_  
><em>Took the lonely and took me for a ride<em>  
><em>And I wanna uh-uh-uh-uh-uh-undo it<em>  
><em>You had my heart, now I want it back<em>  
><em>I'm starting to see everything you lack<em>  
><em>Boy, you blew it, you put me through it<em>  
><em>I wanna uh-uh-uh-uh-uh-undo it<em>

_You stole my happy, you made me cry_  
><em>Took the lonely and took me for a ride<em>  
><em>Boy, you blew it, you put me through it<em>  
><em>I wanna uh-uh-uh-uh-uh-undo it<em>

I then belted him in the mouth, knocking out a tooth, and stormed off, letting everyone know without a shadow of a doubt that he and I were through.

~End of Flashback~

It was because of this that I decided to go it alone from that point on.

The start of high school rolled around and I put on my school clothes with little care that they were still the ones that I had worn while in America. Entering Tokyo High, I couldn't help but notice a certain level of tension in the air, not to mention that there were quite a few seniors hanging around the halls and staring at all of the freshman students with malice in their eyes.

After putting my things away in my locker, I then headed for the auditorium where all freshman students were being directed to the center for some strange reason and so took my seat to listen to Kouchou-sensei's opening lecture before dismissing us for orientation. At one point I looked up and noticed a bunch of paddles being passed out to the seniors and began to feel a bit concerned, even more so when I noticed that one of them had the word 'freshman' emblazoned on it.

I then turned to the girl next to me and asked of her, "Nani the heck is going on here?"

"You don't know? They're getting ready for the freshman hunt" she told me in concern and I turned to reach down into my backpack to extract my mini buster sword and wrapped its sheath and belt around my waist.

"Also, I notice that many of you in the senior class are preparing to begin the traditional 'freshman hunt', but I wish to ask all of to, onegai…onegai, refrain from striking any of your fellow students. We got hit with many lawsuits last year alone and we're still paying for them" pleaded Kouchou-sensei of the older students, but I had a feeling that his pleas fell upon deaf ears.

Rising up from my seat, I started heading for the exit just as two seniors began to block my path so I pulled my sword out and firmly said, "Step aside or I won't be held responsible for any harm done you." They listened to me and left me alone.

I had just reached the hallway when mass pandemonium broke out but was quickly settled back down, 'Maybe Kouchou-sensei has decided to take a personal stance in making them behave.' I had just made it to my homeroom when I noticed many other freshman students rapidly joining me with concerned looks in their eyes while murmuring back and forth amongst each other.

"Did you see the way they all backed down so quickly to that one boy?" I heard Miyako inquire of another student.

"Hai, I've never seen him before, but he sure was able to convince them otherwise" I then heard Kaarii reply.

"Iie, I'm telling you that he had claws _in_, not _on_, _in_ his hands" I then heard a boy say to his friend as they also entered the classroom.

"But that's not possible" the second boy replied in disbelief.

'My Luke had claws in his hands' I thought to myself as I crossed my arms upon my desk, leaned my head down upon them, and turned away from the rest of the class to sulk as I was once again thinking of and missing him.

Soon our sensei entered the room and brought the class together, but I decided to ignore her as well as the rest of the class while she began to introduce herself.

"Daijobu, let's get your books passed around! Now as you receive your books, onegai begin writing your names in them" she instructed us, but I just let the stack of books that was growing on my desk sit, something that didn't go unnoticed by our sensei.

There was knock on the door and sensei stepped away to answer the door to find Kouchou-sensei standing there. We could all hear them whispering amongst themselves, and I think I heard some mention of my name but I decided to ignore it as well.

I then heard sensei tell some other students to take the desks around me but as they approached I wrapped my arms around my head so as to let them know I had iie wish to be disturbed.

"Daijobu, as you all can see, we now have three foreign exchange students joining us this year and in a moment, I'll release you all to get to know one another…though I have a feeling that one of us is feeling a bit anti-social for some reason or another" Sensei then announced to the class, indicating me but again I decided to ignore her.

She then dismissed the class to socialize when I heard Kaarii say, "I can't believe you're still sulking over a broken heart, Momoko-chan! It took me a while to adapt to being away from Chico, but you're going too far."

"Lay off of Momoko-chan" I then heard a somewhat familiar voice say and I opened my eyes; it was not Kaoru's voice, that was for sure.

"Maybe she just needs a hug" offered another familiar voice that I knew was not Miyako's.

"I would if she would just look up at me" I heard a third familiar voice, this one a guy's, and I knew without a doubt that it wasn't Sakamoto as I wiped a couple of tears from my eyes.

I looked up at the person standing over me and wiped my eyes clear once more before I said, "Tell me I'm not dreaming."

At that he pulled me up out of my seat, and kissed me soundly while holding me in his arms and, once we parted to catch our breath, asked me, "Still think you're dreaming?"

"But how…?" I started to ask but he placed a silencing finger over my lips to kiss me again.

"I missed you something terrible" he whispered to me.

"And I've missed you" I replied back quietly as I wrapped my arms around him in a tight embrace.

"Well, it seems that you two definitely know each other" Kaarii replied as she crossed her arms at us, though smiling.

"He's…my boyfriend" I told her as I placed my ear to his chest to listen to his heartbeat.

"Oh, so you're the one she's been so melancholic over" Miyako noted as she walked over to meet Luke and his shimai-tachi but quickly backed away when she saw Luke's eyes.

"I've been rather miserable since I had to leave her behind" Luke confessed while wrapping his arms around my waist and setting his chin upon my shoulder.

"You've still to receive your books" Kaarii then noted as she indicated for Miyako to follow as they ran to the sensei's desk to pull out a set of books for each of them.

Just then our communicators began beeping and I looked up into Luke's face with a grin.

"Follow us" I whispered as I nodded to my teammates and we ran to the roof and transformed; "Hyper Blossom;" "Solar Blade;" "Rolling Bubbles;" "Powered Buttercup;" "Feminine Bridgette;" "Tama Berry;" "Staccato Barrage;" "Powerpuffs Z!"

Needless to say the other girls were quite concerned when they saw the weapon upon Blade's waist but I just indicated for everyone to follow after us.

We flew off to city hall and burst in just as Fuzzy was about to grab hold of Ms. Bellum, shouting as we entered, "Not so fast Fuzzy Lumpkins!"

"You again; I'll teach you not to interfere with my winning of Ms. Bellum's heart, da-monda" shouted Fuzzy as he made ready to tackle me to the ground.

Pulling me out of the way, Blade stepped forward and released his claw-blades as he prepared for hand-to-hand combat, causing Fuzzy to come to a screeching halt as he stared at Blade's bladed-fist in concern.

"Nani is the matter, not willing to go claw-to-claw with the likes of me?" Blade jeered as Fuzzy began to back away, not noticing Buttercup as she stood off to one side and brought her hammer slamming down atop Fuzzy's head and knocking him out cold.

"Remind me not to get on Blade-kun's bad side" Bubbles whispered to Berry who let out a quick giggle.

"Actually, I do believe Berry is worse than I am" Blade remarked and it was my turn to chuckle as I quickly remembered watching Berry incapacitate Butch.

"I have a question; how much of an assurance are we given that these three will keep our secret?" Buttercup asked as she looked at the others in distrust.

I didn't hear the question as I was diligently whispering into Blade's ear and he was whispering back to me.

"Well, we've managed to keep Blossom's secret for all this time without an urge to share it" offered Berry honestly.

"Not to mention that we have our _own_ secret" Barrage added in a matter-of-fact manner with a hint of the word, 'duh', hanging in her tone.

"Why don't we continue this conversation back at the lab, that is, if we can pry those two apart long enough to fly there" suggested Bridgette and both Blade and I looked up at her in puzzlement.

We flew off to the lab where we were given questioning looks by Peach, Ken, and the Professor.

"Aren't you all supposed to still be in school?" Ken asked of us till he laid eyes on Blade, Berry, and Barrage.

"Fuzzy Lumpkins was terrorizing Miss Bellum again and after getting rid of him, we wound up with some puzzling issues that we had hoped you all would help us to settle" Bubbles answered as she sat down on the couch.

"Really; and just nani might those be?" inquired the Professor as he joined us and stared at our new friends in surprise.

"Meet Blade, Berry, and Barrage; I can classify the girls, but nani do we call him?" Buttercup said with determination since it did seem inappropriate to refer to him as a Powerpuff _Girl_ Z.

"It's an honor to meet you; I am Professor Kitazawa" the Professor replied back with a bow of greeting to them.

"Kitazawa…Ojisan!" Berry and Barrage then exclaimed as they ran up to the Professor and embraced him much to his surprise.

"Ami…Isamu; it's great to see you two! Then you must be Luke; I've heard so much about you three from my itoko" the Professor replied as he hugged the girls in return once he realized who they were.

"Wait, you mean to tell me that these three are my itoko-tachi?" Ken asked in surprise before Berry pounced on and hugged him tightly; I could have sworn I suddenly saw a strong trace of jealousy flash in Bridgette's eyes as she watched this while holding onto and snuggling with Peach.

"With you permission, Blade and I would like to go for a walk" I said, excusing the two of us from the conversation.

"Sure, we'll meet you back at the apartment, Blade" replied Barrage with a smile and we reverted back to our regular identities and left.

We were half way to my house when the Rowdyruff Boys, including their newest member Bosco, came skating out of an alleyway and began taunting us.

"Shouldn't you boys be in school?" Luke asked of them with patience.

"School's dumb, pestering you two is a lot more fun" Brick said as he came skating past me rapidly, grabbed and pulled my shorts down to my knees, and skated away before either of us could make a move.

Bosco began skating forward with an equally mischievous grin on his face as he stared at my panties, but before he could reach me, Luke moved a clawed hand in the way and Bosco skated away at the last second to avoid getting cut and joined Brick.

I then reached down and pulled my shorts back up while sending the boys a nasty look, but they remained in their places, staring at Luke's claws in shock. Luke then gave them a nasty look of his own and slowly approached the two boys as they now had their backs against a wall and nowhere to escape to.

"Do to those two baka-tachi nani you wish; I have interest in someone else" Butch told Luke and walked away.

"And I want to go see if I can find that really cute blonde girl that recently moved into the area" added Boomer as he took off in a different direction.

"Nani are you going to do to us?" inquired Brick in deep concern as Luke chuckled evilly at them.

Much to my surprise he slammed each bladed-fist so as to pierce the outer two blades into the wall behind Brick and Bosco and slowly extracted his middle claws to just shy of their throats as he warned them, "If I ever catch or hear of you guys flipping or pulling down fujin-tachi's skirts or shorts ever again and the next time we meet I won't be so nice and will just use the two of you for my personal scratching posts. Do I make myself clear?"

"Hai, crystal clear" the boys replied with sweat pouring down their faces.

"Good, now then…_Sukuramu_!" Luke shouted at them menacingly and the boys began tripping over each other as they all took off running for their lives while Luke and I began laughing at them quite heartily as we resumed our journey to my house.

We were still laughing when we approached my house and I invited Luke inside, though failing to notice a familiar looking grey motorcycle parked in front of the house.

"I just have to stop in and check on my imouto" I whispered to him as I led him inside only to be confronted by Rikiya.

"Welcome home, Momoko-chan; who's your friend?" Rikiya asked as he pulled me up beside him protectively.

"Rikiya-kun, this is Utonium Luke…my boyfriend from the U.S. Luke-chan, this is my itoko Udetsuyoi Rikiya" I told him as I introduced them.

"So you're the one who stole and broke my itoko's heart; break it again and I'll split you open with my claymore" Rikiya threatened while shaking hands with Luke.

"It's not my intention to, but I do appreciate your stance, Rikiya-kun" Luke replied in kind.

"Oneechan, is that you?" I then heard Kuriko call for me from her bedroom.

"Hai, I'm coming" I called back up to her when Luke came up behind me.

"I'd like to meet her, if I may" Luke said softly and I agreed, though Rikiya insisted on tagging along.

Kuriko was sitting up in her bed and reading a book, though from the look on her face, she was quiet bored with it.

"Hey, Kuriko-chan, how are you doing?" I asked of her as I sat down on her bedside.

"I'm bored, Momoko-chan, I've read all of my books at least three times already. I want to go outside and play" Kuriko whined and I nodded my head in understanding.

"I know and I really do wish I could take you outside. Meanwhile, though, I have a very good friend with me who would like the opportunity to meet you, if that's daijobu with you" I offered her and Kuriko nodded her head in acceptance.

I then rose up and granted Luke entrance into Kuriko's room as I introduced them, "Kuriko, this is Luke, the young man I've been telling you about. Luke, this is my imouto, Kuriko."

"Hey, kawaii-sa, how're you holding up?" Luke inquired of her with a genial smile and Kuriko just stared up at him in total amazement.

"I'd be doing better if I could walk" Kuriko said after a few minutes.

"Understandable; do you have any feeling in your feet and legs?" Luke asked of her, catching my attention.

"Hai, a little" replied Kuriko.

"Would you object if I take a look?" he asked of her as he knelt down beside her bed.

"You'll stay in the room, too; right, Oneechan?" Kuriko asked of me and I nodded my head in agreement.

Pulling her pajama bottoms off, Luke began to run his fingertips up and down her legs slowly, watching her twitch and giggle as it tickled her. Luke then began to feel her ankles and testing the soles of her feet, which had her giggling even more.

"Well, your tickle reflexes work. Can you roll over onto your tummy for me?" Luke then requested and she rolled over for him, though he had to assist her in moving her legs. Flipping the bottom of her pajama top up he then told her, "Easy now, I'm not going to get personal, I just want to check the sacral area of your spine."

With Kuriko nodding her head to him, he pulled her underpants down to just below her waistline and began to gently feel her spine. All of this was arousing my curiosity as I watched diligently, though I had to hold Rikiya back as he thought Luke was getting too personal with her.

"Nani are you looking for?" I asked of him after a while.

"I'm checking to see if there is nerve or muscle damage to her spine and if so, how severe it may be" Luke explained as he slowly applied a light amount of pressure till Kuriko indicated pain.

"Ite-e" she shouted out in pain and Luke instantly let up, though again I had to keep Rikiya from attacking Luke.

"Gomen nasai, Kuriko-chan, I didn't mean to hurt you" Luke apologized as he then began to run his fingertips up and down her legs and feet again, to which Kuriko giggled again.

"I think we can get her walking again, but it will take some time and patience on all of our parts" Luke told us while dressing her, just as my parents were walking in, and according to their cries, felt hopeful.

"Do you really think you can and onegai, don't sugar-coat it" inquired my father earnestly.

"I really believe we can, but again, it will take a lot of patience on our parts. We can't pressure Kuriko too hard and we can't expect immediate results. But if we all work on it, we should be able to get some hopeful results. By the way, I am Utonium Luke, and someday I wish to ask for your musume's hand in marriage" Luke informed them and, as he took my hand into his own, I blushed.

"So you're the one who Momoko's been shedding so many tears over. It's a pleasure to meet you, though I do hope you don't intend to break her heart again" Mom asked seriously.

"It is not my intention to, but if I should, I give all four of you the honor of striking me down" Luke told replied and they nodded their heads in acceptance.

"Luke-san, if you can help Kuriko to walk again, I will pay for the wedding myself" Dad exclaimed happily.

"I get to be best man!" Rikiya exclaimed excitedly.

"I want to be the flower girl!" Kuriko added, sharing Rikiya's excitement.

"Works for me, but let's get you walking first, Kuriko-chan" Luke promised and thus started Kuriko on the pathway to healing.

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><p><strong>Carly: So not only have Luke and Momoko been reunited, but it also sounds as though things are going to start turning out better for Kuriko too.<strong>

**TCW: Hai, but only time will tell for sure.**

**Carly: So nani is in store for the next chapter?**

**Next time…**

**Kaoru: A whole new chapter featuring me!**

**TCW: It's to be a chapter you'll not soon forget.**

**Momoko: All this and much, much more coming soon!**

**Carly and Momoko: Just make sure to leave us some nice reviews while you wait, onegai!**

**Author's Note: Song used - "Undo It" by Carrie Underwood.**


	21. Rikiya Vs Butch

**Domo arigato for all of the great reviews, friends! For this next chapter, we will be switching over to start in Kaoru's point of view while a fight breaks out featuring…**

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><p><strong>Rikiya vs. Butch<strong>

The following morning I entered the classroom to find Miyako and Takaaki sitting together, whispering and giggling to each other and I rolled my eyes to the ceiling. I then spotted Kaarii sitting with and talking to the two new girls, Ami and Isamu, and decided to join them.

"So why would you choose to change your name to a guy's name?" I heard Kaarii ask of Isamu as I approached them.

"I've always been a bit of a tomboy and none of the other Nihon-go names seemed to fit my personality" Isamu replied matter-of-factly and they all broke out laughing.

"So where are Momoko and your oniisan this morning?" I asked as I noticed they were missing.

"They're out buying supplies for her imouto's therapy treatments" Ami replied simply.

"By the way, anyone know who the new guy is?" Isamu then asked as she pointed to a guy with white hair and I felt my heart skip a beat as I turned to look at the newcomer.

"I recognize him from somewhere, but I can't quite remember; are you daijobu, Kaoru-chan?" Kaarii started to say when she noticed the look on my face.

When he turned, our eyes met, and I felt my cheeks warming up. I gazed down at the floor in sudden discomfort, but when I looked up again, he was standing in front of me…and smiling warmly. I looked into his silver eyes and could see my reflection as he stared into my own eyes and I could tell that I was blushing brightly from the way my face felt.

"I know you from somewhere" he then said in a gentle manner.

"Then you have the advantage" I replied nervously.

"Gomen nasai, where are my manners? I am Udetsuyoi Rikiya" he said as he politely bowed to me.

"I'm Matsubara Kaoru" I told him as he took my hand into his own and began to rub the back of it with his thumb.

"Kaoru…such a beautiful name for an even prettier girl" he replied and my heart began to pound in my ears.

"Quite the charmer, I see" I then heard Kaarii say from beside me, but I barely paid her any attention.

"Let's do lunch; my obasan made too much for me" he said and I could feel my knees starting to turn to jelly as I stood before him.

"Okay" I replied softly and he smiled at me wider.

"Then it's a date" he said as he kissed me on the cheek and, as he turned to return to his desk, I reached out and quickly grasped my own to steady myself as I slowly dropped into my seat while ignoring the questioning looks my other classmates were sending me.

"Are you daijobu?" asked Kaarii as she began to fan me with one of her school books.

I made iie reply as I began to fumble with my pencil box as our sensei entered the room. Fortunately, I was able to regain control of myself as we began our lessons. However, the one thing I didn't notice was a certain black-haired, green-eyed boy hanging outside the classroom window and was now glaring at Rikiya in jealousy.

Butch's POV

I was peeking in the window of Kaoru's classroom when I noticed that new baka approach and began to make eyes at my girl. I could just barely hear nani they were saying through the slight opening between the window and its sill but when I heard him ask her to lunch and her acceptance, I then decided to I had to do something to break it off before things got started.

Jumping down from the ledge, I headed off for another part of the school to lay a trap to catch Kaoru as I quietly said aloud, "You will be mine, Kaoru-chan."

Kaoru's POV

We were outside getting ready to run the track when Rikiya approached me to ask, "Would you care to run with me?"

"Only if you think you can keep up with me" I replied smartly, though my cheeks still went warm with anticipation.

"Works for me" he replied as we all began to line up to make ready to begin running.

At the sound of our coach's whistle, we began running with Rikiya keeping up with me almost effortlessly much to my surprise…and pleasure. We finished the course first and were so dismissed to cool down, though my one leg was starting to throb a bit.

As I began to massage the muscle in my leg, Rikiya asked, "Are you daijobu, Kaoru-chan?"

"Just a sore muscle is all" I replied when he came over and began to massage the muscle in the back of my calf for me.

I was enjoying the feel of his touch when he reached down to remove my shoe and sock as he then began to massage my ankle and foot as well which not only felt fantastic, but had me blushing even brighter. When he finished, he replaced my sock and shoe back onto my foot just as the rest of the class came over to begin their own cool down session.

Helping me to my feet, we then began to walk towards the showers, hand-in-hand, until we reached the point where we had to separate to enter our locker rooms.

I had just returned from the shower and began to get dressed when Kaarii and Miyako sided up to me to ask, "So, nani do you think of Rikiya-sempai?"

I remained silent as I could feel my cheeks warming up again when Kaarii said, "That's nani I thought" as she turned to her own locker and began getting dressed.

As I exited the locker room with my friends, I noticed Rikiya standing off to one side, waiting for me as we were to head off to the cafeteria together.

"Tell you nani: You find us a table and I'll get us a couple of bottled waters" I offered and he nodded his head in agreement.

I entered the line and had just grabbed hold of two water bottles when a net fell down over me and a cloth was placed over my mouth and nose, causing me to fall asleep.

Rikiya's POV

'Kaoru sure has been gone an awful long time' I thought as I checked my watch and went to check on her.

I entered the line when I noticed two water bottles on the floor and a note had been dropped between them.

Picking up the note I read: _I challenge you to a duel out by the bleachers in one hour and to the winner goes Kaoru – Butch_

I crumbled the note and threw it into the recycling bin, not noticing that I had just barely missed hitting Kaarii with the paper as I took off running, though not without stopping at my locker first to retrieve my claymore.

Kaarii's POV

I was just about to throw away a few pieces of paper into the paper recycling bin when I looked up just in time to see a wadded noted get tossed into the bin, just missing me my a hair. I looked over in annoyance at the one who threw the paper and noticed Rikiya with a rather mean look on his face as he took off running and reached in to extract the note. When I read it, I had a feeling nani was about to go down and decided to chase after him in concern for Kaoru's well-being. I had just rounded the corner when I spotted Rikiya as he took up a sword and paused to take full notice of the thing.

'That's a Scottish claymore!' I though to myself as I finally realized just why it was that Rikiya had seemed so familiar to me as I began to follow him at a respectful distance.

Rikiya's POV

As I approached the bleachers, I spotted some guy standing over Kaoru's unconscious form and grinning at me maliciously.

"So, you decided to show up after all" he told me in a derisive tone of voice.

"If you have harmed Kaoru, I swear: I'll _kill_ you" I returned in anger.

He then held up a bottle as he said, "I didn't harm a hair on her, I just used ether to knock her out so she wouldn't put up a struggle."

"Baka, don't you know that can induce nausea and vomiting upon awakening?" I asked in frustrated annoyance.

"Oh, and just nani makes you the authority on anesthetics?" he asked in return.

"It's called chemistry…something you probably know little about. If you did, then you would know that you can't win a girl's love in some moronic competition. But if you should wish to continue this arrogance, I'll gladly split your head open" I said as I unsheathed my claymore.

"I won't lose my Kaoru to the likes of you!" he shouted at me in return as he removed a pair of dirty socks from his pockets and threw them at me but I sliced through them with little effort.

"Such an uncouth lout as yourself doesn't deserve a refined fujin as Kaoru" I replied as I pulled out an alcohol wipe and washed the blade of my sword off with it. "But if death is nani you want, then I have iie problem with giving it to you."

Just then a blonde-haired boy touched down beside him and said, "Come on, Butch, there's iie point in getting yourself killed over this girl. Besides, I know of a nice conciliation prize that I think is more up your alley anyways."

"Iie, I'm not giving up without a fight" Butch replied as he pulled out another pair of dirty socks and threw them at me, which I merely side-stepped as they went past me.

"Come on, he's got a claymore; he'll kill you if you keep this up" Boomer said as he began to tug on his brother's shirt only to get shoved down onto the ground.

"I told you, I...am...NOT...giving up without a fight!" he shouted at his brother as he eyes began to turn red in fury.

"Then bring it on, baka" I jeered at him when he pulled a naginata out of the air and began to twirl it over his head.

He swung his long, bladed weapon at me and I just barely dodged as he managed to place a cut upon my upper arm. I tried to run in to have a go at him, but he quickly began to twirl his weapon around and thus kept me at bay. With an unexpected lunge, he managed to cut another wound upon my shoulder and I pulled away to keep him from piercing it into my hide.

'He's got the advantage in this battle now, but every weapon is only as good as the one wielding it' I thought to myself as I watched him spinning his weapon above his head once more. 'That's it!'

I ran to the bleachers and climbed the steps as he began to pursue me. Reaching the top, he tried to make another lunge at me, but I quickly leaped out of the way and landed with both feet upon the blade and sliced through his naginata's wooden handle with my sword much to his chagrin. I then leaped over his head and landed just behind him as I placed my claymore's blade against his throat while breathing heavily.

"You're a good opponent, but the battle is over. You should learn to never fight with anger for your enemy, but love for those you are trying to protect. I now give you the choice: leave and don't ever bother Kaoru again...or die" I told him firmly.

"Fine, I submit; Kaoru's all yours. Let's go, Boomer" Butch said sadly as he and his companion disappeared to parts unknown.

"It's not so bad, Butch; like I said earlier, I know of this one really kawaii girl who I think you may find a lot better than that Kaoru girl" Boomer said to his brother as they left.

I then ran up to Kaoru, sheathed my sword, and knelt down beside her. I look on at her sweet face as she slept when I decided to wake her with a kiss. As I placed my lips to hers, she began to rouse and returned the kiss much to my pleasure. When her eyes opened and she looked up at me, she smiled lightly before turning over onto her side to throw up.

"Kissing me couldn't have been that bad" I said in jest.

"I don't know why I just did that" she replied before she threw up again.

"I was only teasing. It's a side-effect of the ether that baka used to knock you out" I told her as I began to rub her back comfortingly.

"Here, Kaoru-chan, eat these and drink this" a voice said and I looked up to see Kaarii passing her a couple of ginger snaps and a bottle of ginger ale.

After eating the cookies and drinking the beverage she looked up at us and said, "Domo arigato, I feel much better now."

"Can I take you home?" I asked of Kaoru as she stood up and suddenly collapsed against me.

"Un, I'd like that" she replied with a drowsy smile.

"I'll see you guys tomorrow then" Kaarii said as she waved to us from the doorway back into school.

Kaoru's POV

I felt nice to be in Rikiya's well-muscled arms as he carried me to his silver motorcycle, mounted the bike with me sitting side-saddle upon the back with my arms wrapped around him, and we rode off to my apartment, though we really could have walked since I basically lived next door to the school.

I must have dozed off, because the next thing I knew we were in my room, with me now dressed in my pajamas and he was sitting on my bedside, smiling warmly.

"I guess this means that you've seen me in my underwear" I noted to him feeling really embarrassed.

"Iie, your mom took care of that part with me out of the room. She allowed me to come in here to watch over you until you awoke" he replied and I felt a little more relieved.

"Arigato for bringing me home" I said to him quietly as we kissed again.

"Doitashimashite; will I see you in school tomorrow, Buttercup?" he asked of me and my eyes shot wide open.

"Nani did you call me?" I asked in shock.

"Buttercup…it is your alter ego's name isn't it?" he asked of me in return.

"How did you know?" I asked of him in a stunned whisper.

"Your eyes…I saw the same shimmering emerald eyes in you that I saw in Buttercup from the other day and just put two and two together. Don't worry, your secret is safe with me" he said as he kissed me again and I wrapped my arms around his neck.

"Arigato" I replied appreciatively.

"Oyasumi to amai yume, Kaoru-chan; I'll see you tomorrow" he said warmly.

"Oyasumi to tanoshii yume, Rikiya-chan" I replied as we shared one more kiss while he tucked me in for the night and soon left out of my room as I turned onto my side and went to sleep.

Butch's POV

Boomer led me to the window of this one apartment and indicated the two girls inside the room, one blonde-haired girl with pig-tails and another girl with black, shoulder-length hair, both of them wearing silk pajamas.

"I should warn you, they're refined girls also, but they're also available. If you can clean up your act, you just might get lucky enough to have the opportunity to talk with the black-haired girl. I'm working towards the blonde" Boomer told me in a whisper.

"So that's why you've been walking around the hideout with books on your head and working on your articulation; I'm impressed" I replied as I followed him home where we both began to work on our acts despite the strange looks Brick and Bosco were sending us and we both even went as far as taking a bath with hot water and soap.

Momoko's POV

Luke and I had finished gathering the necessary supplies that he would need to begin Kuriko's therapy treatments the next morning when he dropped me off at home. We shared a long, passionate kiss as we stood upon my front porch when we heard my father clearing his throat and broke our kiss.

"Gomen nasai to disturb you two, but it's getting late and you still need to take your bath, Momoko-chan" dad said as he waited for me to enter.

"Oyasumi to amai yume, Momoko-chan" Luke then uttered to me with a kiss on the cheek.

"Oyasumi to tanoshii yume, Luke-chan" I replied as I returned the kiss and entered my house while he left for his own home.

I headed off to take my bath and, when I returned to my room, found Kuriko already asleep in my bed. Casting my towel off and forgoing getting dressed, I climbed into bed with Kuriko, who was also undressed, and curled up with her to sleep for the night.

Luke's POV

After I returned home, I stopped to check up on Ami and Isamu to find them getting ready to turn in for the night.

"So when is the A. C. going to be repaired?" Isamu asked of me as she turned up the fan in their room.

"The repairman can't come until this weekend" I replied with a sigh.

"I think that one boy was hanging around our window again tonight, only this time, I think he also had a friend with him" Ami noted to me.

"That's why I bought some curtains for your window today; they didn't see anything, did they?" I asked them in concern.

"Iie, we were already in our pajamas when they got here" she replied and I nodded my head as I began hanging their new curtain.

When I turned back around, both of them were snuggled up in bed together and already dozing off, though their clothes sat in a neatly folded pile beside their futon as they had taken to sleeping in the buff until the air conditioner could be repaired. I then kissed each of them 'oyasumi' on the cheek, clicked their light off, and left for my own room where I turned in for the night myself.

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><p><strong>Carly: Interesting, both Butch and Boomer are willing to try bettering themselves just for the opportunity to talk with Ami and Isamu.<strong>

**TCW: Well, I couldn't let Butch walk away completely empty-handed, now could I?**

**Carly: Iie, I guess not; so nani is in store for the next chapter?**

**Next time…**

**Momoko: Luke begins Kuriko's therapy treatments.**

**Kuriko: I sure hope it works.**

**TCW: All this and a whole lot more coming soon!**

**Carly: Just leave us some nice reviews while you wait, please!**

**Author's Note: A naginata is a wooden pole with a katana-like blade on the end with a hand-guard at the bottom of the blade. For more information, check Wikipedia. Also, I wish to thank cakedecorator for the assist with the battle sequence...Domo arigato!**


	22. Therapy

**Thanks a bunch for the grand reviews, my friends! Next we get to join Kuriko as she begins to receive her…**

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><p><strong>Therapy<strong>

The next day, Luke came over with an assortment of massagers and my mother following to watch while I assisted him as Luke demonstrated nani was to be done with each.

As mom was looking over a couple of the massagers, she asked of him with some concern, "Are these 'personal' massagers?"

"Hai, but I'm going to be using them to work on her sacrum since a normal-sized massager is typically too large for such a small area" he explained and mother relaxed as she nodded her head in acceptance of this.

I lifted Kuriko as he set down heating pad/massager for her to lie on that just Kuriko's lower back rested on it.

Luke then slowly began to massage her legs with his hands, working first on her right leg before moving on to her left one as he explained, "The heat will relax the muscles of her lower back while the massager invigorates them with movement. By massaging her legs while we wait to work on her sacrum we encourage circulation and awaken the muscles for working on the back. Next, we're going to raise and lower each leg so as to engage the hip and thigh muscles into lengthening and shrinking from the movement."

Mom and I watched this carefully while taking in Luke's explanations of nani each performance would do to benefit Kuriko.

"Okay, so now that all of this is done, we will now disengage the heating pad/massager to begin working on Kuriko's sacrum" Luke told us as he also helped Kuriko into rolling over onto her tummy. "We'll start with a bit of prodding of the muscles; don't hesitate to let us know if this hurts, Kuriko-chan, that way we can determine which muscles are causing the most difficulty and we can work on them a bit more slowly and diligently" Luke informed all of us and Kuriko nodded her head in agreement.

Working first from her right side and proceeding to massage outward from her spine, Luke paid close attention to Kuriko's every indication of pain and getting her assistance in judging the severity of pain. I wrote down all the information Luke told me to make note of and then he repeated the same process on her left side; he was right, it was predominantly her sacral area that had the heaviest injury.

"Daijobu, Kuriko, I need for you to roll onto your back now" Luke instructed her and I aided her in rolling over.

"Next we're going to engage her thigh muscles again by first lifting the leg straight up and then slowly bending the knee we'll apply a small amount of pressure to place the thigh as close to her stomach as possible; again Kuriko, onegai, tell me when and the level of pain you feel" Luke explained as he began working on her left leg first and then her right one.

Once this was finished, Luke re-engaged the heating pad/massager so as to relax the muscles her sacrum, but on low heat and then for not quite as long.

"This keeps the muscles we worked on warm so as to remain relaxed while we begin the cool-down process" Luke informed us while draping warm towels over her bare legs.

"How long do we keep up with this routine?" Mom asked.

"With a twice daily routine it shouldn't take much more than a couple of weeks; and then we will move on to building the strength back in Kuriko-chan's legs" Luke replied as he began to tickle her feet and legs playfully, which delighted Kuriko immensely.

Mom, dad, Rikiya, Luke, and I stayed faithful to the routine Luke had provided us with. As the second week was drawing to a close, Kuriko was iie longer experiencing any severe pain in her lower back, and though she was able to move her legs on her own power now, she still couldn't stand on her own.

Luke had just finished another treatment on Kuriko when we all sat down together at the table to enjoy dinner when dad asked, "I know Kuriko's experiencing a lot less pain now, but shouldn't she at least be able to stand?"

"Iie" Luke replied simply and when my father started to speak up, he held up a silencing hand. "We've only addressed the cause of the pain and removed the pressure that was causing the numbness in her legs. Next comes the really hard part."

"Nani is that, Luke-sensei?" Kuriko asked apprehensively.

"We've got to teach you how to walk all over again" he replied and even dad nodded his head in comprehension as to the level of difficulty she was about to face.

"How do you wish to progress with that treatment?" Rikiya asked of Luke curiously.

"By taking her to the hot springs and I have already made the reservations" Luke replied and I looked over to him in a mixture of wonderment and excitement.

Mom, Kuriko, and I traveled together up to the hot springs via the train as Luke had already gone ahead to get some special equipment set up for Kuriko to use. When we arrived, Mom talked to the woman at the front desk who happily showed us to the antechamber where we would change into our bathing suits, though Mom remained dressed as she had iie wish to enter the water.

Ami, dressed in a bikini, soon entered the antechamber just as Mom was zipping up the back of Kuriko's one-piece while I was slipping into my bikini, and smiled as she told us, "Luke and Isamu are just getting the equipment set into place."

"Great, I can't wait to get started" Kuriko replied anxiously as Mom lifted her up into her arms to carry her to the pool.

"Gomen that we can't do this more appropriately, but this is really more of a therapy treatment for Kuriko-chan than therapy for us" Luke apologized as he came up and took Kuriko from Mom's arms; traditionally we should have been in the buff.

"That's daijobu, I'm just interested to see how teaching her to walk in the hot water is going to help" Mom replied as the rest of us entered the water with Luke entering between the two poles while sitting Kuriko down upon the ledge with her feet touching the bottom of the pool.

"Daijobu Kuriko-chan, I don't know how far we'll get today, but let's first see how much strength you have in your legs. Now, I'm going to hold your foot down and I want you to do your best to kick upwards; ready…kick" Luke explained as he knelt down in front of her.

Kuriko tried with all of her might to kick, but with little result; she looked crestfallen.

"Very good, Kuriko-chan, that was better than I expected; now I'm going to hold your foot in place and I want you to try to take it from me" Luke praised and instructed her.

Once again, Kuriko did her best to take her foot from Luke's grasp, but again didn't do so well.

"Excellent, you're doing quite well, Kuriko-chan! How do you feel about trying to walk?" Luke praised her again.

"I can try, though I don't see how I can" Kuriko replied, wanting to feel hopeful, but unable to show it.

"Well, that's why we're in the water" Luke said with an encouraging smile as he picked her up and carried her deeper into the water setting her down to where she was chest-deep in the water, but he could still kneel down with his head and shoulders just above the waterline.

"Okay, now I'm going to let go and I want you to try to remain standing. Remember, you are in the water and I'm right here to help you if you should need it" Luke instructed her and she nervously nodded her head in agreement.

Luke released her and she braced to remain upright, but was only able to hold on for ten seconds before dropping into the water. Luke caught her just before her chin touched the water and he stood her back up.

"That was pretty good for a first attempt. Want to try again?" Luke asked her encouragingly.

"Hai, just try and stop me" Kuriko said with determination and we all released a chuckle at this.

It took most of the day, but Kuriko was at least able to shuffle to the quarter mark of the pool when Luke told her it was time to stop and rest. Luke picked her up in his arms and carried her back to the edge of the pool with the intention of setting her down and flirting with me some more, but Kuriko had fallen asleep so he settled for holding onto her as he sat down beside me as we soaked up the warmth of the hot spring.

"There is one thing I don't understand: couldn't you have done this in our home as opposed to coming here?" Mom inquired once Luke was sitting beside me.

"Hai, but water has a higher rate of resistance, thus causing Kuriko to struggle harder and build up a greater amount of strength in her legs. Also, the heat helps to keep the blood moving through her muscles at a higher rate so as to keep them well oxygenated during the exercise and, of course, should Kuriko have fallen in the water, which she did, she's less likely to be injured. And then there is the greatest benefit of all" Luke explained simply.

"And just nani might that be?" inquired Mom in earnest.

"I get to see Momoko-chan in a bikini" Luke replied with a blush, causing me to blush, while everyone enjoyed a hearty laugh.

"Hai, well, from nani I understand, you've seen much more of her than just that" Mom replied after she regained her composure.

"Not since she left the United States" Luke returned quietly as he stared at me.

"I'm just glad you were able to come here to be with me" I replied as I leaned my head down upon his empty shoulder; Kuriko was using his other one. "Which reminds me: if you three are here, then who's watching over your city?"

"The Professor created three more Powerpuff Girls to take our places" Ami replied while lounging on the edge of the pool with one foot dangling in the hot water.

"Right, since we have iie intent on returning to Townsville" noted Isamu aloud.

"Nani, why not; won't you miss your friends and family?" I asked of them as I looked up into Luke's eyes with puzzlement.

"Oh sure, we may visit once in a while, but our main plan is to remain here in Nihon, with our oniisan and, maybe, our giri no oneesan" added Ami as she rolled onto her stomach to smile at us.

"I think that sounds like a wonderful idea" Kuriko murmured as she opened her eyes to look up at us before yawning widely.

"Well, now that you've awakened from your nap, nani do you say to us getting out of here and getting something to eat" Luke suggested to all of us and we all agreed to this idea.

Mom and I helped Luke with getting Kuriko out of the water and we carried her to the ladies' antechamber with Ami and Isamu in tow while Luke went to the men's antechamber.

We met up in the main hallway that led out of the hot springs and soon left for a nearby restaurant. We all ate well, Kuriko even asked for dessert as she was still quite hungry and Luke ordered for her.

"You're going to spoil her, Luke-chan" Mom chastised him with a smile.

"After the grueling exercise she did today, she deserves it, though from here on you'll be doing this walking exercise at home" Luke replied before directing his attention back to Kuriko.

When we arrive back home, Dad met us at the door and took Kuriko from Mom to carry her to the furoba, leaving me and Luke alone as his shimai-tachi waited at the gate.

"Arigato for the wonderful day" I said as I gave Luke a hug.

"Doitashimashite, Momoko-chan" Luke said as he elevated my head and kissed me on the lips, which we soon deepened until we were interrupted by my father clearing his throat. "Oyasumi to amai yume, Momoko-chan, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Oyasumi to tanoshii yume, Luke-chan" I returned as I turned and walked away, pausing to glance up at my father who beckoned me entrance to join Kuriko in getting cleaned up.

"Oyasumi, Luke-kun" I heard Dad say to Luke.

"Oyasumi, I'll be back tomorrow with a track-system for Kuriko to use" Luke informed him with a respectful bow.

"Domo arigato, for all the help you're being for Kuriko; see you in the morning" Dad called after him as Luke met up with his shimai-tachi and they waved to him before journeying home for the night.

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><p><strong>Carly: You sure did change this chapter from the last time I remember it.<strong>

**TCW: Well, I wasn't too happy with the original version and thought to change it up some.**

**Carly: I'm glad you did. So nani is in store for the next chapter?**

**Next time…**

**Momoko: Once again, Sakamoto rears his ugly head and of all places, he's in my room and I just got out of the o-furo!**

**TCW: Stay tuned!**

**Carly: I'm not sure I like the sound of where that's going. **

**Momoko: Just be sure to leave us some nice reviews while you wait for the next chapter to arrive!**


	23. Sakamoto Returns

**Thank you for the many great reviews, everyone! Before we continue, please note that this chapter continues where we left off in the last one but will start in another POV. I now present to you all…**

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><p><strong>Sakamoto Returns<strong>

It was getting rather frustrating to see Momoko hanging around with that Luke and watching them as they exchanged hugs and kisses so I decided to take it up with some of my friends.

"I just don't know nani you see in Momoko" one of them commented.

"It's not for you to understand" I replied firmly.

"If you want her that badly, then why don't you find some way of marking her as yours" offered a second.

"That could work, but how?" I inquired of him.

"Only one way I can think of to make Luke sick to even look at her" offered a third.

"Un, but I don't think Sakamoto has it in him to do that to her" remarked the first.

"Nani is it; I'll do whatever it takes to make Momoko mine again" I replied determinedly.

"Grab her, gag her, tie her up, and then 'take' her" my third friend answered lustfully.

"Looks like I was mistaken; that's one thing I won't do. I have my morals and I won't do that unless she actually were to ask me to" I returned before walking out of the arcade where we had met up.

I started to walk towards Momoko's house when I remembered the permanent marker in my pocket and began to think over nani most of my friends had suggested. Jumping the fence that surrounded her house, I then ran to the tree outside of Momoko's bedroom window and climbed up it in hopes of finding her in there, but the room was dark.

I was about to start climbing back down the tree when I heard a car pull up to the house and looked over to see Momoko, her mother, imoto, two of the new girls from school, and Luke climb out of a taxi which he paid the fare for.

Climbing back up, I decided to bide my time while secretly going over my plan in my head. I would indeed grab, gag, and tie up Momoko, but I would use my permanent marker to write my name upon her in as many non-intimate locations as I could. I then saw Momoko dash into her room, grab up her bathrobe, and then dashed back out; she must have been heading for the furoba. I silently cheered at my good fortune.

Momoko's POV

Mom had just assisted in getting Kuriko out of the o-furo and began to help her in drying off while I did the same before asking her, "So did you want to sleep in my room again or are you going to sleep in your own bed tonight, Kuriko-chan?"

"Aren't you tired of me sharing your bed, oneechan?" she inquired of me in return, though with a look on her face that said she was preparing to have her feelings hurt.

"Iie, of course not; in fact I rather enjoy it, especially when I stop to consider…" I let my thought drift off as I look down at the floor when she reached up to me making me drop to my knees so as to hug her tightly; there were times where words weren't really needed between us and this was one of those moments.

"I *yawn* think I'll try sleeping in my own room tonight" she told me with a tired smile and I nodded my head in acceptance of this as she and mom got her dressed in her pajamas; I'd forgotten to grab mine and so returned to my room while wearing only my bath robe.

I headed up to my room where I pulled out a change of clothes so as to get ready for bed. I began to remove my robe when I heard my window being opened and, much to my horror, Sakamoto slid in.

"Well, well, well, I was hoping just to find you alone to ask you to return to me but this is much better" he said as he closed my window and began chuckling while approaching me.

"Sakamoto, nani are you doing here?" I demanded firmly as I wrapped my robe back around me tightly.

"I'm here because I was hoping to talk you into coming back to me. I've been lonely without you" he replied as he came up to me and began to run one hand through my hair and placed the other one on my backside when I quickly turned and slapped him.

"Get out of here this instant, you hentaisha, or I'll scream" I told Sakamoto in anger.

"Oh sure, you'll scream because it's me; I bet if I were that baka, Luke, you'd be jumping all over me" Sakamoto replied in disgust and my cheeks turned red.

"I said to leave" I returned as I tied my bathrobe's belt around my waist before clutching the top of it closed less he see me.

"Just tell me nani that baka has that I don't" Sakamoto demanded as he got a little closer to me.

"Fine, he's kind, polite, chivalrous, and loves me for me" I told him as I backed away from him only to trip and fall back onto my bed.

"Chivalrous; nani does that even mean?" scoffed Sakamoto as he turned away from me, secretly pulling a length of cloth out of his jacket's pocket.

"It means he knows how to treat a girl and is willing to protect her with his very life. Now, I said, _leave_, or do I have to scream for my father?" I informed him with determination as I sat back up.

Sakamoto spun around and gagged me with the cloth before removing my belt which he then used to bind my wrists to the headboard of my bed.

"I think it's time you realized that chivalry is a dead art and that the one who owns you is me" he then told me as he pulled my robe open to stare at me lustfully while extracting a permanent marker from his pocket.

That was when we heard the sound of six swords being simultaneously drawn from their sheaths as a deep, menacing voice said, "Think again, baka."

Sakamoto turned around to see Blade standing there, three claw-blades extruding from the back of each of his hands which were clenched into fists and staring death at him.

"By the great Kami" Sakamoto exclaimed in shock as he stared at Blade's hands, dropping the marker from his hand.

"Wise that you would call upon him, now back away from Momoko-chan now or I'll use you as a scratching post" Blade threatened him and Sakamoto acquiesced while holding his own hands up in surrender.

"Take it easy, there's iie need for violence" Sakamoto said, trying to placate Blade.

"As I recall, the lady told you to leave. I highly advise you do so before I throw you out the window" Blade threatened him firmly as he took another step forward and indicated the window with one clawed fist just as my parents entered the room, having been alerted by the sounds that had been emanating from my room.

Sakamoto took his advice and stepped back out through the window, shimmied his way down the tree, and took off running as mom closed my robe before removing the gag from my mouth while Blade untied my wrists.

Sakamoto's POV

I left out the window and climbed down the tree to catch my breath and settle my nerves.

'Man, I never imagined running into Blade like that. I'd best steer clear of him or next time we meet, I may not be so lucky. But why in the world did his claws seem so familiar and why does he care about Momoko so much?' I pondered silently before climbing back up over the fence and then took off running for home before I ran the risk of angering Blade further.

Momoko's POV

"Are you daijobu?" Blade then asked of me with genuine concern in his eyes, but I said nothing as I sat up and wrapped my arms around him as I began sobbing into his shoulder as he held fast to me while Mom ran a hand over my back to comfort me.

"How did you know something was happening to get involved?" dad asked of Blade as he watched Sakamoto take off running down the street.

"I saw him up in the tree just as I was getting ready to leave and decided to hang around to see nani the baka was up to after I sent my shimai-tachi home. When I saw him open Momoko's window, I knew he was up to iie good and so decided to follow him; I'm glad I did" Blade answered as he reached down and picked up my panties and slid them onto me without once looking at or touching me; not that it would have mattered anyways since I was almost asleep.

"Wait a minute; you said 'as you were leaving', does that mean that you're…*gasp*…Luke?" Mom asked of him and he silently nodded his head.

"Hai, but in this form I'm known as Blade" he replied in a quiet voice so as not to disturb me as I was dozing against his shoulder.

"I'm happy that you did too, but, if you're going to start caring for her so deeply, then you may as well start by putting her to bed and tucking her in" Dad said quietly.

"I'd love to, but she has a death-grip on my shirt" he replied lightly when mom approached to assist him.

He and Mom must have worked hard on the situation because when I woke up the next morning, I was wearing Blade's t-shirt and my panties. I then got dressed, still wearing Blade's shirt, iie bra, my denim miniskirt, barefoot, and exited my room to join my parents at the meal table.

"Ohayo, Momoko-chan, how are you feeling this morning?" Mom inquired as she came up behind me and placed a hand upon my forehead as she brushed my bangs from my eyes.

"I'm daijobu. So last night did happen; I had hoped it was a bad dream until I woke up wearing Blade's shirt" I replied as I began eating my breakfast.

"Hai, well, when you fell asleep in his arms, you had such a tight grip on his shirt that your mother and I had to help him out of it in order to put you to bed. However, as soon as he put you into bed, you released your grasp of his shirt and began whimpering so your mother removed your robe and Luke draped his shirt over you and you settled down instantly. I guess he's become such a source of strength and comfort to you, that you require a small part of him to remain with you to feel safe" Dad explained while indicating the shirt I was wearing and I blushed lightly.

"Wait, you said that is Luke's shirt…" I began when I realized nani must have happened.

"Hai, he told us that Blade is his alternate identity. It reminded me of you also being Blossom" Mom told me as she was getting Kuriko's breakfast ready for me to take up to her.

After the final battle with Kare, it was made common knowledge to everyone just who the Powerpuff Girls Z really were. Naturally our parents were none too happy with this information at first, but they quickly adjusted.

"How's Kuriko this morning?" I inquired hoping to change the subject.

"She was still sleeping when I stopped to check up on her earlier. But if you'd be so kind as to take her breakfast to her for me, I'd be most appreciative" Mom told me as I placed my dishes in the sink.

I then took up the tray and left for Kuriko's room to check up on her and when I entered found her struggling to walk as she clutched onto her bed and mumbling, "I can do this; I can do this."

"Why don't you wait till Luke comes over to work with you?" I offered her as I set her breakfast down upon her desk and Kuriko looked at me with a puzzled expression on her face.

"Where did you get that shirt from?" Kuriko asked of me just before her legs gave out and she crashed to her little o-shiri.

"It's complicated" I replied as I helped Kuriko up to sit on her bed before placing the breakfast tray in her lap to eat while I stared at a spot in the middle of her floor in silence.

"Can we go sit in your room after breakfast; it's nicer in there" Kuriko requested and I agreed, being sure to grab a change of clothes for her before we left.

When we arrived in my room, I placed her down upon my bed before vacating to take her dishes down to Mom to wash them and told her that we were up in my room getting her dressed. She had just finished slipping on a fresh shirt when I knelt down to slip her socks onto her feet before reaching up to take hold of her pajama bottoms to remove them when I glance up to notice her looking down at me.

"Can you explain the new shirt yet?" she asked of me as I slipped her shorts up onto her.

I then took a deep breath and told her nani had happened the previous night as I joined her in sitting on the side of my bed.

"And you're wearing his shirt still in hopes that when you go to return it to him, he'll get the chance to see your bare chest and want you" Kuriko said with a grin and I looked at her in shock. "When you were down on the floor putting my socks onto my feet, that shirt hung forward, and I could see your chest."

I stood up and sent her a wry look before pushing her back onto my bed and before tickle-torturing the girl into agreeing to keep silent about it to our parents; she eagerly gave in to my demands.

"Truth is, sometimes I wish Ken would want to do the same with me" Kuriko confessed with a sigh.

"Got a thing for him, huh?" I asked of her with a smile and she nodded her head.

"Which reminds me, I thought you were in love with Luke?" Kuriko inquired innocently.

"Well, remember how back when Kare was defeated that my friends and I were revealed to be the Powerpuff Girls Z; well, in much the same way, Luke is Blade" I informed Kuriko and she stared up at me wide-eyed with a big smile on her face.

True to his word, Luke and his shimai-tachi arrived that morning to begin working with Kuriko, or rather, his shimai-tachi worked with Kuriko while he and I sat up in my room, him sitting in my desk chair as I sat on the side of my bed, talking about last night.

"I suppose I should return your shirt to you now that you're here" I said simply, trying not to reveal my true intentions just yet.

"I'm in iie hurry, besides, it looks good on you" Luke replied sweetly.

"I don't know about that. I mean, grey with this color hair; it just doesn't seem to work" I returned as I made ready to remove his shirt from me.

"And your father is standing in the doorway watching us" he whispered to me and I turned around to see my father smiling at us with his arms crossed.

"So, how's Kuriko doing?" I inquired of my father innocently.

"Don't play innocent with me, your cheeks are already telling me nani you had in mind. As for Kuriko, she's doing quite well. Now do me a favor and have 'fun' with my daughter before she accuses me of interference, Luke-kun" Dad replied with a chuckle as he closed the door.

"Why does having permission to do 'it' seem to take the thrill out of it?" I pouted at the door.

"I know, but we still have to keep the noise down" Luke returned as he stood me up, pulled his shirt off of me, and held me against the wall while he kissed and fondled me without restraint much to my pleasure, though still remaining abstinent as we wanted to wait until we were married for our first time.

After half an hour of making out, we decided to get dressed so as to join the others and to check up on Kuriko's progress. When we rejoined the others, Isamu sent us a suspicious look since I was now wearing a different colored shirt and I couldn't help but blush under her gaze.

"Well, nice of you two to finally join us; did you two have a nice chat?" Ami asked innocently as she walked backwards in front of Kuriko, ready to catch her should she fall.

"Hai, you could say that" I replied while looking away from them as I could feel my cheeks turning even redder.

"How's Kuriko doing?" Luke suddenly asked, becoming businesslike.

"This is her tenth repetition so I would say that she's showing major improvement" Isamu said with an encouraging smile to Kuriko.

"Well, sounds like she's due for a rest then" Luke replied as he helped Ami to back out of the bar set.

"Iie, I want to go two more times" Kuriko argued as she looked up into Luke's eyes pleadingly.

"I know, but if you don't rest, you could unintentionally undo all the hard work you've already done by overstraining your muscles" Luke told her with sympathy and, though downhearted about it, Kuriko agreed to call it a day.

Ami and Isamu took down the walking path while Luke helped Kuriko to warm down and soon he and I took her to the furoba to give Kuriko a much needed bath; though mostly to help her legs to relax in the hot water as opposed to her being dirty.

"So how much longer do you think it'll be before she's walking on her own?" Dad asked in all seriousness once we had returned to the main room; Mom having taken our place in helping Kuriko in the furoba.

"It could still take a few months, but these things take time. Tomorrow I'm going to stop off at the drug store to purchase a walker for her to begin using; it will allow her to feel a little more independent after a while. As she rebuilds her strength, she should be able to move on to a walking cane and then to moving about on her own, but again, it is going to take time and a lot of patience on our part as well as hers" Luke explained carefully and Dad seemed willing to listen and cooperate.

"School starts back up Monday, too" I reminded everyone quietly.

"You just had to mention that, didn't you?" grumbled Isamu and we all broke out laughing.

True to his word, Luke stopped over and stayed with Kuriko while she learned how to move around on the walker. Later that evening, Luke bid us sayonara, stopping to kiss Kuriko on the cheek and me on the lips, before heading off for his own home.

I was beginning to get ready for bed after taking my bath when my mother entered the room saying, "That Luke is something else."

"Hai, he sure is" I agreed with a romantic sigh.

"He really seems to know a lot about physical and massage therapy" Mom said as though changing the subject.

"He's been studying it for quite some time now" I told her, though I still refused to meet her eyes as I pulled out a change of clothes.

"It would be nice to have a doctor in the family" Mom quietly mused as she checked to make sure my window was locked before closing my curtains.

It was then that I remembered that I had still to put on my clothes and thought to finally confront her, "Mom, nani is all of this really about?"

"Gomen nasai, but your father and I are concerned about your staying healthy" Mom apologized as she sat down beside me.

"Mom, we don't intend on having sex until we're married" I informed her as I began getting dressed and she seem happy with my explanation as she left my room and I turned in for the night.

It was nice having Luke come over almost every weekend to work with Kuriko and to spend time with the family. And he would even bring his shimai-tachi over once in a while, which pleased Mom even more as she began to think of them as her surrogate daughters.

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><p><strong>Carly: Suggestive to say the least, but at least you kept it clean.<strong>

**TCW: Of course, otherwise I couldn't maintain the 'T' rating and then you wouldn't be allowed to read it.**

**Carly: Good point, so nani is in store for the next chapter?**

**Next time…**

**Momoko: It's back to school but, something seems to be off about Kaoru.**

**Kaoru: Nani is everyone looking at?**

**TCW: Find out next time, so stay tuned!**

**Carly: Meanwhile, be sure to leave us some nice reviews, onegai!**


	24. The Powerpuff Boys Z

**Arigato for the many great reviews, my friends, and I apologize for the delay in getting this one out. So allow me to also say: Arigato for your patience. Now, without further delay, I bring you the next chapter where we will meet…**

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><p><strong>The Powerpuff Boys Z<strong>

Kaoru awoke the next morning and stretched her arms wide before turning and spotting the single yellow rose, thorns removed, sitting upon her windowsill. Smiling as she remembered the way Rikiya had slipped it behind her ear the night before on their first date, she blushed lightly. Climbing out of bed, she cast her pajamas off and approached her closet and began industriously searching through it. Finding her outfit of choice, she began getting dressed when she gave pause to pick up and slipped the rose back behind her ear, looked at her reflection in the mirror and smiled brightly.

Exiting her room just as Dai and Shou were also heading for the kitchen, both boys stopped to look at their shimai in total shock which she paid little attention to. Entering the kitchen, she spotted her father sitting at the table, reading the morning newspaper.

"Ohayo, Dad" Kaoru told him as she retrieved her milk from the refrigerator and drank it down.

"Ohayo, Kaoru-chan, how are you this…morning?" Tokio began to cheerfully reply when he gave pause to look at his only musume in awe.

"Well, don't you look just lovely this morning" complimented her mother as she entered the kitchen and took note of Kaoru's abnormal attire.

"Arigato, I thought it might please Rikiya-kun to see me like this instead of always in my normal clothes" Kaoru replied with a smile.

"I'm sure he'll be quite pleased" her mother informed her confidently before Kaoru turned, picked up her backpack, and took off for school with a wave to her family, though the male members could only watch her leave with looks of astonishment on their faces.

"You boys had best get dressed or you're going to be late for school" their mother then informed them and both Dai and Shou took off for their rooms to get dressed for school.

"I think Rikiya is going to turn out to be a rather positive influence on our Kaoru" noted Tokio to his wife as they returned to the kitchen.

Entering school, Kaoru received many stares from the girls who knew her while many boys began to run into things as they couldn't stop staring at her. Some ran into each other, others tripped over their own two feet, one or two tripped and fell face first into trash cans, still others found themselves getting punched or slapped in the face by the girls they were escorting.

Kaarii and Miyako spotted her and both slowly approached to ask, "Kaoru-chan…is that really you?"

"Hai, who else would I be?" Kaoru asked in confusion as she noticed her friends staring at her in surprise.

"Gomen nasai, but we're just not used to seeing you dressed…like that" Miyako replied apologetically while indicating the clothes her long-time friend was currently wearing.

"You're trying to impress Rikiya-kun, aren't you?" asked Kaarii smartly while smiling.

"Do you think he'll like it?" Kaoru then inquired of her friends in uncertainty.

"I love it" a voice said from behind Kaoru and she turned to look up at Rikiya as he approached.

"I wore it specifically for you" Kaoru replied as they shared a hug.

"Well don't just stand there, let me get a look at you" Rikiya told her excitedly and Kaoru stepped away to model for him.

She'd chosen to wear a yellow sleeveless blouse that also bared her back, a light green mini-skirt, and green sandals with yellow bands that bound around ankles while otherwise barefoot. Many boys began to take note of her and quickly began to approach with anime-hearts in their eyes until they found themselves facing threatening looks from Kaarii, Miyako, Kaoru and Rikiya until they quickly turned and ran to their classrooms.

"Would you like to cut school and go to the park together?" Rikiya asked of Kaoru as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Gomen nasai, but we have a big test today…" Kaarii then reminded the duo only to receive dirty looks from the young couple. "I'll be shutting up now" she then added as she half hid behind Miyako.

"Nani if we just cut out early, like after the test?" suggested Kaoru helpfully.

"Daijobu, though I don't see how I'm going to concentrate" Rikiya replied with a sigh.

"You'll find a way" I said as Luke and I walked up, my hand in his back pocket while his arm was wrapped around my waist; interestingly enough, I had worn a similar outfit today, but my blouse was pink, my skirt and sandals were red. Ami and Isamu were just behind us and dressed similarly, though wearing their school loafers while remaining barefoot.

"I suddenly feel overdressed" Miyako said with a sigh, noting the shirt she had worn.

"That makes two of us" added Kaarii as she stepped out from behind Miyako.

"You'll feel even more so once you realize that the A.C. in the classroom is busted" noted Takaaki as he walked up and the eight of us began to travel off for our classroom.

"Again; that's the third time since school started!" exclaimed Kaarii in disbelief.

"Come on Kaarii-chan, we still have a few minutes, so we can escape to the ladies' room to dress down a bit" offered Miyako as the two of them left.

They soon rejoined us, but now their socks and undershirts had been removed and their sleeves had been rolled up and pinned into place with safety pins. Miyako had even gone as far as raising the lower halves of their shirts up to display their midriffs in an attractive manner that was also cooler.

"Gomen nasai for the heat, class, but as you know, the A.C.'s out again…though it would seem as though a few of you have already prepared for this" Sensei noted as she entered the classroom and noticed the way many of us girls were dressed while taking extra notice of the fact that Kaoru was dressed rather femininely. "So, because of the heat, I'm going to be ending classes early today, but first, it's time to take the test; I certainly hope you all studied hard."

After passing out the tests, she returned to her desk and announced, "Okay, so you have one hour to complete the test; ready…begin."

Miyako and Kaarii finished their tests first and so delivered them to Sensei's desk for grading before being dismissed to wait for the rest of us out in the hallway. Takaaki soon followed and walked up to kiss Miyako on the forehead as he wrapped his arms around her bare mid-section and began to play with her navel much to Miyako's pleasure, though they still made sure to remain quiet as the rest of the school was also test-taking. Many others would soon follow but when the hour had come to an end, we were all admitted back into the classroom to quietly sit while the sensei graded all of the papers.

Another hour passed and she soon began to return the tests back to the class, placing them face down on the desks, while saying, "Many of you did extraordinarily well on this while still others just made it."

Kaarii, Miyako, Takaaki, Luke, and Rikiya aced the test while Ami, Isamu, Kaoru, and I passed with B-'s much to our relief. Class was then dismissed for the remainder of the day, just as the repairmen arrived to repair the A.C. unit.

"So nani you guys want to do?" Ami asked innocently.

"Well, I don't know about the rest of you, but I've got to head over to the small drug store at the airport and pick up a walking cane for Kuriko" Luke replied to us. "Would you like to come with me, or hang around with the others, Momoko-chan?"

"I'm going to hang out with the others this time" I replied as I stood up on tiptoe, as he leaned down, to kiss him on the lips.

"Daijobu, I'll catch up with all of you later" he called as he ran off towards the airport with a wave.

"Hey, here's a fun idea, let's go wading at the beach" Miyako offered and the rest of us girls began to agree with the idea; unfortunately, however, the boys had their own errands to run and so had to decline.

"You know, since the boys aren't coming with us, how about we head back to my place? The new pool was installed yesterday, we have lots of privacy screening in the backyard, and dad won't be home until this evening" Kaarii offered and we all turned to smile brightly to each other.

"But we don't have our swimsuits with us" replied Ami, displaying her naiveté to us.

Shaking her head at her shimai, Isamu then began whispering into her ear until Ami's cheeks turned red as she exclaimed, "Oh, so that's nani you meant, Kaarii-chan."

"I'd like to, but I've got a sensitivity to chlorine" Miyako replied downheartedly.

"Well, we could always head over to Sakurako's confectionary" I suggested and we all nodded our heads in agreement.

Sitting around in the cool air of the confectionary, the others were insisting on my sharing some stories of my year in the U.S. with them and were all chuckling over my telling of the first time I met Luke.

"That reminds me, when I get home tonight, I'll check to see if the pool's filter uses chlorine or not; I think dad chose a more environmentally-friendly alternative, but I can't quite remember" Kaarii informed us.

"Face it, you just want to go skinny-dipping" Isamu replied sarcastically only to receive a dirty look from Kaarii until we all broke out laughing again.

"Guilty as charged" Kaarii said with a blush in her cheeks.

"Admittedly, it does sound rather enjoyable" Miyako added with a blush of her own.

"So how about telling us of the first time Luke found out about you being a Powerpuff Girl" requested Kaoru and I blushed again as I began relating the story to them.

"Sugoi, it's a good thing he has such a strong sense of self-control!" noted Kaarii.

"True, though to be completely honest, a small part of me wanted him to continue" I confessed as my cheeks turned even redder.

"Don't worry, just as soon as the two of you are married, he'll take real good care of that desire for you" Ami said with a smile while her own cheeks turned bright pink.

We then paid our bill and soon left to walk home when we noticed the Ace, Brick, and Bosco blocking our path as they stood in front of an alleyway. We stopped and looked behind us to see Snake, Big Billy, Grubber, and Arturo step out of the alleyway just behind us.

"Of all days for me to decide to wear a skirt, why did I choose today?" we heard Kaoru ask of herself aloud as we quickly realized just nani was going on: we were surrounded and the boys all had lustful looks in their eyes.

"So, are you girls going to come quietly or do we have to do this the hard way?" inquired Ace with a sadistic grin on his face.

Kaarii and I glanced down to our waistlines and we sighed in frustration as we didn't have our swords with us. I normally always had my mini-buster sword on my side while Kaarii had her katana, but since today was a school day and the school said iie weapons, we didn't have them with us.

"I don't suppose screaming 'Tasuke' would be of any use to us" noted Miyako concernedly just as the four boys behind us began to push us towards the other three.

"Dibs on the brunette" we heard Bosco proclaim as we were being forced down the alley.

"I want the red-head" I heard Brick announce and I swallowed a lump in my throat.

"Take whomever you want, but the girl with the blue hair is mine" replied Ace and I noticed Kaoru shudder. "Arturo, go get the camera ready so we can blog this all over the internet!"

"Give me a minute, I'm still setting my laptop up" griped Snake.

"We can at least start undressing them" Brick said as he was running his hand across my o-shiri, much to my disgust.

"You want to get your hand off of my girlfriend before I cut it off?" asked a voice from behind us and we all turned to stare at a group of six boys including Luke, Takaaki, Rikiya, and three newcomers.

"And just who the hell are you guys supposed to be?" asked Ace in confusion.

"Who cares, trash them!" shouted Brick in aggravation as they began to charge towards them.

"Solar Blade"

"Shabon Baron"

"Highland Blast"

"Super Bash"

"Mega Butch"

"Thunder Boomer"

"Powerpuff Boys Z"

Ace and his companions suddenly came to a screeching halt and began to back away in deep concern of their own wellbeing.

"I don't believe it; our kyodai-tachi have become turncoats!" exclaimed Bosco to Brick.

"So I noticed" groused Brick as he glared at Butch and Boomer in anger.

Reaching into his pocket, Bosco then extracted a bomb and tossed it onto the ground between the Powerpuff Boys and themselves which released a smoke screen and thus allowed them to escape unharmed.

"Shuriken Fan" we heard Baron call out as he began to spin his giant star-shuriken so that it blew away the smoke.

"Are you ladies daijobu?" Blade inquired of us and we all silently nodded our heads in affirmation.

"Would you care to introduce us to your companions, Blade-sama?" asked Kaarii while her eyes were locked with Bash's and both of them were blushing.

"Of course, where are my manners? This is my old schoolmate, Jones Josh, that you're making eyes with, Kaarii-chan. I met him at the airport while picking up Kuriko's cane. These two are Kanta and Pazu Mizatama, ex-members of the Rowdyruff Boys and whom I met while stopping by the lab when my ojisan requested an audience with me. As for the other two, well, you already know who they are…or at least Miyako and Kaoru do" Blade answered while noticing that Blast and Kaoru were lip-locked as were Baron and Miyako.

"So may we offer you girls a lift home?" Butch asked of Isamu with a polite bow.

"How about escorting us instead" she replied and Butch nodded his head in agreement.

"Are you the one who's been peeping in on me the last month or so?" Ami asked of Boomer.

"Hai, gomen nasai, but ever since I first laid eyes on you, I've wanted to get to know you only I was too shy to say anything" Boomer replied with a low bow to her.

"And I've been doing the same of you" Butch then confessed to Isamu while also bowing low.

"All is forgiven" the girls then replied simultaneously, though they then looked at each other awkwardly; they still missed that third voice.

The boys then reverted back to their street clothes and we all began to walk away while chatting quietly. Though, Kaarii refused to meet Josh's eyes for reasons that she would not share with us just yet.

"Gomen nasai, but I've got to be getting home before dad starts to worry" Kaarii told us with a wave before dashing away towards her home.

"Don't take it personally, Josh; I just don't think she's ready for a relationship right now" Miyako told him.

"Oh well, I'm heading home; catch you guys later" Josh told us with a two-fingered mock-salute before turning and running off towards his dorm.

Luke and I then turned to notice Isamu and Ami whispering into Kanta's and Pazu's ears while the boys were blushing and grinning brightly before turning and running off towards the girls' and Luke's apartment.

"I get this distinct feeling that the boys are going to be given an eyeful" Luke said aloud with a sigh as the rest of us began giggling.

"Perhaps, but at least they know how to keep it clean otherwise" I replied to Luke as I quickly found myself wanting to do the same.

There was a rumble of thunder from overhead and we looked up to notice the dark clouds just as the first few drops of rain began to fall and we all took off running for our homes.

Arriving at my house, Luke and I were met by my mother with a few towels as we noticed Kuriko walking by with her new cane and my father following along behind her.

"You two had better get out of those wet things and into the o-furo before you catch cold" cautioned my father much to my surprise.

Luke and I headed for the furoba where we undressed and climbed into the hot water of the o-furo together where we snuggled up closely and he wrapped his arms around my waist, though still being careful not to touch me anywhere personal as we dozed off until my mother shook us awake.

"You may as well accompany her to bed, Luke-chan; there's iie way you can make it home in this weather" Dad noted to us while staring out the window and indicating a set of his pajamas for Luke to wear.

"Just make sure to keep it clean" warned my mother with a wide grin as he collected up the clothing.

"Iie worries there; I'm too tired to want to try anything like that" Luke replied with a yawn as we began to head up the stairs to my room.

Upon entrance we cast aside our towels and Luke slid on the pajama bottoms. We were about to climb into bed together when we noticed Kuriko was already in the bed, sleeping, and also undressed. Luke and I smiled to each other and climbed in with her where we both drifted off to sleep as we curled up with Kuriko between us.

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><p><strong>Carly: A little suggestive in the end there, but at least Kuriko is there to act as chaperone…so to speak.<strong>

**TCW: True, but I promised to keep things clean and that's a promise I intend to keep.**

**Carly: Arigato for that. So nani is in store for the next chapter?**

**Next time…**

**Momoko: Time marches on and now it's almost Christmas time.**

**Ami: Yatta, our first Christmas in Tokyo!**

**Miyako: Only one member of the team doesn't wish to partake of the holiday once again and it's confusing everyone.**

**TCW: All this and much, much more coming soon.**

**Carly and Momoko: But while you're waiting, how about leaving us some nice reviews, onegai!**


	25. Christmas in Tokyo

**Arigato for the great reviews, friends! Now, let's join our friends as they get ready to celebrate…**

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><p><strong>Christmas in Tokyo<strong>

"It's hard to believe winter is almost upon us once again" noted Miyako to the rest of us as we were walking towards school.

"Un, and this chilly wind is really emphasizing it too" Ami replied with a shiver as we all braced against a cool breeze.

"I've felt colder" Luke said in dismissal of the wind.

"Omedeto" Kaarii replied in her usual sassy tone of voice.

"You've been getting rather sassier than normal, Kaarii-chan. Nani is the deal?" asked Isamu in annoyance.

Kaarii, however, remained indifferent to the question and just acted as though she hadn't heard. Though when I turned around to look at her, I noticed a sad look in her eyes that she seemed to be trying to hide and quickly got the idea: another holiday season without her ototo, Chico.

"We're going to be late if we don't get the lead out" announced Takaaki and we all took to jogging to school.

Later that day, while at lunch, Kaarii sat away from the rest of the group and we all sent her questioning looks, though Luke seemed to be more concerned.

"You know, this is going to be her third Christmas away from Chico" I told the others.

"Of course, that's nani has been bothering her; why didn't I see it before?" Miyako exclaimed as she bumped herself in the forehead with the heel of her hand.

"That does explain a lot. I just wish she'd talk about it with us instead of withdrawing from us" Kaoru replied with a sigh.

"Who's Chico?" asked Ami and so we went into detail on nani had happened in Kaarii's past.

"Poor Kaarii; I know I hated it whenever Luke was pulled away from us to protect the city and here she is pulled away from her ototo for over three years" Isamu said with a sympathetic sigh as she turned to look up into Luke's eyes.

"I wonder if Santa 'Claws' might be able to find some way of helping Kaarii to have a truly happy Christmas this year" I then said with a side glance to Luke who smiled down at me.

"It can't hurt to ask; I mean, look nani he did for Ken that one time when he wished to be reunited with his mom" noted Miyako, albeit unaware as to nani I was referring to.

Luke remained quiet as he turned and pulled out his cell phone while stepping away from the rest of the group to a quieter section of the cafeteria. Ten minutes later, he returned to sit down beside me and gave me a wink and I couldn't help but smile in anticipation of whatever it was he had planned.

We all gathered at the lab that weekend with our families as we chatted about our plans for Christmas while watching Kuriko walking with her new cane, with Ken beside her.

"I figure about another week or two and she should be able to walk on her own, though she will need to take it slowly still. But by the beginning of winter vacation, she should be fit enough to run a marathon" Luke told us and we all couldn't help but cheer Kuriko on.

"So has everyone gotten their Christmas shopping done?" Miyako inquired from between Takaaki and her obaasan.

Almost everyone murmured that they had either finished or had most of it done, but Kaarii had remained quiet and soon many of us were sending her questioning looks as she seemed slightly embarrassed by the question.

"Nani is wrong Kaarii-chan; have you forgotten to do your shopping?" Miyako asked of her sympathetically.

"I plead the fifth" Kaarii replied as she stared at the floor and we all looked to Luke and his sisters for an explanation of her statement.

"Back in America, much like here, we exercise our constitutional rights given us by a document called the Bill of Rights. The Fifth Amendment of this document specifically states that we have the right to remain silent, or to not discuss that with which we'd rather keep to ourselves" Ami explained for all of us.

"Is it because you're Jewish?" Luke then asked and Kaarii turned to look at him in surprise as her cheeks turned bright red. "Don't worry, we don't care nani your religion is, Kaarii-chan, all we want is to spend some time with you on the holidays."

We all nodded our heads in agreement when I decided to let Kaarii in on a secret about our culture, "According to my mother, here in Nihon, one is born a Shintoist and die a Buddhist; whatever that means. But we also enjoy the western celebrations and practices as well."

"Really; I didn't know that" Kaarii replied feeling a little more encouraged.

"Nani about you, Luke-sempai?" inquired Miyako eagerly.

"Well, my shimai-tachi and I are considered Christians, but have maintained friendships with many Jewish people" Luke answered honestly.

"We've even had friends who were Hindu and Muslim, though not the radical, terrorist kind" Isamu replied with a smile.

"I like the pretty candles that sit in the living rooms of Jewish homes during Hanukah" Ami noted to Kaarii with a smile.

"There's a family in my apartment building who are Jehovah's Witnesses and they're very nice" Kaoru added while we all watched Kaarii becoming more and more comfortable.

"You know, I remember once when I was real little, we were visiting with some Jewish friends and their children were playing this little game with square tops; I forget nani it's called, but I would love to learn it sometime" I added, hoping Kaarii would know nani I was referring to.

"It's called dreidel and I'd be honored to teach it to you sometime if you like" Kaarii replied with a smile and I eagerly nodded my head in agreement.

With that, our families started decorating the lab for the Christmas holiday with Hanukah decorations mingled within. Kaarii was allowed the honor of lighting the menorah and by the end of the day we had all learned how to play dreidel.

Come Christmas morning, we all gathered together at the lab to open our presents, having slipped them under the tree the night before. And soon, after cleaning up, we sat around the lab enjoying cups of hot tea, hot apple cider, and hot chocolate when Kaarii and her father arrived, though Kaarii had a rather sad look in her eyes again.

"I know you don't accept Christmas presents, but after some searching, I found some appropriate gift wrap and we all chipped in to purchase this special present for you, Kaarii-chan" Josh informed her as he passed her a long box that was wrapped in Hanukah paper.

"I-it's the katana I've been eyeing for quite some time now but couldn't afford; how'd you know?" Kaarii inquired as she wiped tears of appreciation and joy from her eyes after opening her gift.

"I saw you at the local Samurai Emporium holding it in your hands. I then noticed the look on your face when you gave it back to the salesman and after you left out of the store, I entered to inquire as to its cost. So I called up all of our friends, we did some talking, and all agreed to pitch in to buy it for you" Luke explained with a smile while setting up his laptop computer.

"Nani is the computer for, Luke-chan?" inquired Miyako innocently.

"You'll see in just a moment" Luke replied as he activated the video conferencing program on the computer and soon called Kaarii over. "Kaarii-chan, would you mind coming here for a moment? I have someone who wishes to say 'ohayo' to you."

Kaarii came over and, at Luke's beckoning her to sit down in the chair he had just cleared out of, she turned to look at the screen and gasped delightedly as she clasped her hands over her mouth in surprise before exclaiming, "Chico-kun!"

"My battery only has a three-hour life span, so start talking to him" Luke told her as he handed her the headset so that the two of them could engage in a video conversation.

Two hours later, Kaarii logged off and tearfully embraced Luke, while smiling brightly as he shut down the computer.

"Nani made you think of allowing me the opportunity to have a video conference with Chico?" Kaarii asked.

"Your friends told me about how much you missed him and, though I really wanted to find a way to bring him here, I came up with this alternative" Luke replied while nodding his head in Miyako's, Kaoru's, and my direction.

"Domo arigato, guys" Kaarii expressed with a polite bow as she wiped a couple of tears from her eyes.

"Happy Hanukah, Kaarii-chan" we all expressed while Josh came up behind her and gave her a big hug.

After a while, each girl sat beside her boy, leaning her head against his shoulder while we stared into the big fireplace which soon turned into a making out session as we all kissed as we held onto one another.

"Just keep it clean, children" instructed my mother as she began to walk past us and we all blushed in reply.

"Kill-joy" Kaoru muttered until Rikiya pulled her back down so as to continue kissing her, less her mouth get us in any trouble.

After a while, when it began to snow heavily outside, we all snuggled up together under blankets and went to sleep.

"You know, as I look down up our children, I can't help but feel that a happy future awaits them" Kiyoko-san noted as she and the rest of our parents smiled down at us while we slept.

"I do hope you're right" my mother replied as she paid close attention to me, Kuriko, Luke, and Ken.

"Well that Rikiya has had quite a positive effect on my Kaoru. The other day I saw her trying on a dress and had to do a double-take to make sure I wasn't just going crazy" Tokio-san said as he and the rest of the adults stifled their laughter.

Our naps however were soon disturbed when there was a loud banging on the lab door and when the Professor answered it, he was handed a dozen roses by a deliveryman and signed for them

The Professor then handed them to me and I turned to smile at Luke when I noticed an annoyed look on his face; they weren't from him.

"_To my beloved Momoko-chan on Christmas – with fondest love and great affection, Sakamoto_" I read aloud the attached card. "Ite; he didn't even have the decency to have the thorns removed. To think that baka is still trying is just appalling."

I then tossed the note into the fire with disgust and then carried the roses to the front door where I pitched them out into the ice and snow. Shivering from the cold, I then returned to Luke and lay down beside him, pulling him down to snuggle up with me some more so as to warm me and we soon fell back to sleep.

Sakamoto's POV

I watched from the gate, hoping to see Momoko leave Luke and come back to me. I saw the door open and I took in an excited deep breath only to see Momoko toss the dozen roses I had purchased for her out the door and slapped me in the face before falling into the snow and ice. She then closed the door without so much as noticing me and I felt my anger and jealousy begin to boil even more.

I then turned and began to walk home while vowing aloud, "You will be mine, Momoko-chan; I swear it! Kuso, I should have the thorns removed." Of course the wind picked up and drowned out the sound of my voice, as though even it were mocking me.

Momoko's POV

Later that night, after we all returned home, I snuck Luke up to my room where we began making out some more while he dressed me in my flannel pajamas, though we refused to take it any further than that.

Mom knocked on the door and called in, "When you finish with her Luke, kindly put Momoko into bed before you leave."

"Hai" Luke answered back.

"How'd she even know you were in here?!" I asked in astonishment.

"She's your mother and moms always know" Luke replied as he picked me up, put me into bed, and kissed me goodnight before slipping out of my room to return home as I rolled over onto my side to go to sleep.

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><p><strong>Carly: Nice to see you're keeping things clean still.<strong>

**TCW: Hey, I can't lose my co-author over content.**

**Carly: True. So nani is in store for the next chapter?**

**Next time…**

**Kaarii: Mojo's at it again!**

**Kaoru: Only this time he goes too far.**

**Miyako: I didn't know Blade-sempai could get so angry!**

**Momoko: All this and much, much more coming soon!**

**Carly and Momoko: Just make sure to leave us some nice reviews while you wait.**


	26. Mojo's Last Stand

**Thank you to all for your wonderful reviews. For this chapter, we get to see a whole other side of Luke/Blade as he faces off against Mojo Jojo in...**

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><p><strong>Mojo's Last Stand<strong>

New Year's Day and we sat around the lab discussing school and the future when Miyako inquired, "Speaking of which, has anyone decided whether or not to attend college?"

"I'm going to attend so that I can learn how to be a nurse" Ami piped up with a smile.

"I was thinking of becoming a professional wrestler like my father, but lately I've been thinking that business management may be a more beneficial career to pursue" mentioned Kaoru while Rikiya was nuzzling her neck.

"I'm planning on learning how to be a clothes designer" Miyako spoke up.

"I'm going to look into becoming a Pâtissière" Kaarii added with a smile while standing in the doorway to the daidokoro.

"Well we all know you'd be real good at that, Kaarii-chan" Isamu replied while inhaling the inviting aromas coming from the daidokoro.

"What about you Luke-kun?" inquired Miyako curiously.

"I going to further pursue my interest in becoming a physical/massage therapist" Luke replied seriously.

"Sugoi, that's great!" Kuriko said with a smile as she entered the room with Ken at her side.

"Nani about you Momoko-chan?" inquired Kaarii as she brought out a tray of pastries for all of us to enjoy.

"I'm going to look into medical office assisting so that I can help Luke-kun" I replied simply while smiling up at Luke.

As Kaarii sat down and we had all chosen our treat to enjoy, we said collectively, "Itadakimasu."

We were then interrupted by our communicators beeping and when we opened our compacts, the Mayor was telling us, "Girls, you need to get to the center of town; Mojo Jojo is on the rampage again!"

"Right" Kaoru, Miyako, Kaarii, and I said unanimously in reply to the summons and, when we closed our communicators, took note that Luke and his shimai-tachi were getting ready to join us in battle as well.

"You're coming too?" Kaoru asked in surprise.

"Of course" Ami replied simply.

"It'll give us something to do since the boys are out helping the Professor" added Isamu with a shrug.

"Besides, I wouldn't feel comfortable if I let the girl I love run off into battle on her own" Luke replied as he girded his sword on.

"But it's only Mojo" I told him as though excusing him from the responsibility.

"I know, but I promised to watch out for you and that's a promise I intend to keep; and since I promised the same to my shimai-tachi who are joining you, than I have even more of a reason to come along" he informed me and I couldn't help but blush.

"Hai, he's been keeping his promises since your visit" Isamu said with a smile.

"Come on then, let's go before Mojo has the chance to finish destroying the city" Kaarii barked sassily at us and we all nodded our heads in agreement.

"Hyper Blossom;" "Rolling Bubbles;" "Powered Buttercup;" "Feminine Bridgette;" "Tama Berry;" "Staccato Barrage;" "Solar Blade" we said as we pulled out our compacts, Luke his buckle-phone, and transformed into our alter-egos and flew off into battle.

While in flight, I took the opportunity to gaze at my friends in silent pleasure as we flew along in two V-formations; it really felt nice to know that I had friends like them who were willing to fight at my side.

We came to a halt in front of Mojo Jojo in his latest robotic monstrosity that he always dubbed, "Robo-Jojo." Though I quickly took notice of was how close we were in proximity to Mt. Fuji, the still quite active volcano, and couldn't help but feel a slight qualm of concern as I wondered nani Mojo could possibly have in mind this time.

"Not so fast, Mojo" we all called out getting Mojo's attention. "Fighting Love Science Legend; Powerpuff Girls Z!" we then announced as we struck our poses in front of him, though Barrage, Berry, and Blade just looked at us in puzzlement as they stood off to one side.

"Two more Powerpuff Girls, Mojo; and who are you, Mojo?" inquired Mojo as he stared at Blade and his sisters.

"I'm one of the Powerpuff Boys Z" replied Blade as he took up battle ready position while unsheathing his sword and spinning it into position to point straight at Mojo Jojo.

"Attack them my Robo-Jojo!" Mojo shouted as he activated a set of switches which sent a spread of fourteen hands shooting straight at us.

We tried to get out of the way, but the hands were moving entirely too quickly and managed to ensnare Bubbles, Buttercup, Bridgette, and myself. Berry and Barrage punched and kicked the hands that were heading for them away while Blade sliced through the ones destined to grab him. However, the six heading for them proved to be a diversionary tactic, as many more, smaller, hands shot out and grabbed hold of Barrage and Berry.

Blade continued cutting through the hands that were trying to ensnare him when finally a set managed to succeed in grabbing a hold of his sword and pulled it from his hand. We all looked on wondering if Mojo was planning on using the thing to slice through us, but instead he manipulated the arms to break the blade from the hand-guard and threw the blade into the volcano while dropping the rest of the weapon and Blade to the ground.

"Hah! Not so tough without your precious weapon, are you?" Mojo jeered at Blade before manipulating the hands that were holding onto the rest of us to turn us over while six hands with paddles came out of a recess in the robot's hull and began to strike us across our backsides quite hard and Mojo showed little sign of letting up.

Blade pulled himself up from the ground and gazed up at us in concern when he sent a glance to his broken sword on the ground beside him and let out a monstrous roar of pure rage as his eyes changed from glowing red to white to fiery black.

He was totally pissed now as his claws shot out from the backs of his hands as he shouted, "That sword was a gift from my shimai!" and proceeded to use them to climb up the hull of the robot while growling in pure hatred of Mojo.

Mojo continued to attempt to swat Blade down but the arms couldn't reach him. Blade finally made it to the top of the robot and, with one fist, punched through the glass bubble to glare straight at Mojo in ferocity as he grabbed up Mojo by the neck.

Throwing Mojo out of the cockpit of his robot, Blade began to punch, belt, kick, elbow, and bludgeon Mojo as they plummeted to the ground below, when Blade gathered a large amount of energy into his hands and called out, "Solar Flare" as he launched a beam of energy into Mojo and leaving him lifeless in the bottom of a huge crater.

Blade landed beside Mojo's corpse and stood up to do some deep breathing as a large amount of rage emptied out of him. Grabbing up Mojo's body and giving it a mighty toss, Blade succeeded in disposing of Mojo's remains into the volcano before ascending the robot once more to cut us free.

We all stiffly rose up from the ground and began to rub our bottoms which were stinging something fierce when we all sent Blade a glance of sympathy as he picked up the remains of his sword and shed a few tears over the weapon; his first gift from Blossom.

Barrage was the one to first approach him, albeit stiffly, and wrapped her arms around his waist from behind as she buried her face into his back to shed a few tears of her own and was soon joined by Berry as she did the same.

"It served its purpose, Blossom, I can only hope that now it can find some way of protecting you in the next realm" Blade said sadly and quietly as he tossed the rest of his sword into the volcano. Just then a beam of light shown down upon the volcano and we all watched as the pieces of his sword rose up from within, unified into one before continuing up to the clouds above before the light dissipated. "Come on, girls, let's go home" Blade told his shimai-tachi.

"To which home do you refer?" I asked of him with concern.

"To the one here in Tokyo; I'll see you later" Blade replied and, together with his shimai-tachi, left.

Miyako, Kaarii, Kaoru, and I flew off to Miyako's home where, while lying on our stomachs, bags of ice were placed upon our bared bottoms to relieve the pain of our severe beating from Mojo Jojo's robot.

"I can't believe Blade killed Mojo" Miyako said after a while.

"I can't believe he could reach such a strong level of rage. Even while knowing that he's on our side, I was terrified of him until he cut us free" Kaarii confessed.

I remained silent as I thought about nani Luke must be going through since losing his one most precious possession. I then rose up, pulled my panties up, and left the room despite the small amount of pain that I was still feeling. I then asked Miyako's grandmother for a phone book and began looking up sword-smiths. Once I had located a few locally, I then decided to sit down with my friends and began to draw up ideas for a new sword for Luke.

Kaarii, Kaoru, and Miyako let their curiosity get the better of them and soon joined me in trying to figure out the best shape, style, and size for a buster sword.

"The blade should be five feet long and six or seven inches wide" Kaarii offered as she gazed over my left shoulder.

"Should it have a V-shaped hand guard or a flat one?" I asked aloud.

"I like the V-shape and I hear it's supposed to have a stronger hold on the blade as opposed to a flat one" offered Miyako and I made note of this.

"Full tang, of course" added Kaoru as she drifted off in thought.

"And double-edged" Kaarii said with a smile.

"Should the end come to a point or be double-forked?" I inquired aloud once more as I puzzled over the drawing I was making.

"Pointed" the girls replied simultaneously.

"The grip is easy, but the pommel is the next question; should it be star-shaped, coned, heart- shaped, or standard?" I inquired of them.

"A cone shaped pommel, with a heart emblem on both sides of the hand guard with the point of the heart tapering into the point of the hand-guard" Kaarii said as though dreaming of already holding the massive weapon in her hands.

"A star engraved on each side of the pommel" added Miyako and I finished the drawing of Luke's new sword.

"Wow, now that looks fantastic!" Kaoru exclaimed as she looked at my drawing.

"Frightening in its size and shape, but comforting in the hand guard and pommel" mentioned Miyako romantically as she gazed down at the picture while I blackened all but the cutting edges of the weapon.

"Let's head over to the lab, I want to show this to the Professor and Ken" I exclaimed excitedly and we all took off.

"Impressive; it kind of reminds me of the Ultima buster sword from the Final Fantasy game but with a heart shaped gem as opposed to the diamond one used in the game" noted Ken as he looked at my drawing.

"But nani happened to Blade's old sword that he would require a new one?" asked Takaaki as he came up behind Miyako and wrapped his arms around her lovingly.

I told them the whole story, including the part where it seemed as though his sword ascended to heaven, "…and now I want to have this one made to replace his lost one, only I don't know nani kind of metal to ask a sword-smith to use for it."

"I hope you realize that this won't replace the meaning of the sword he once owned" Ken noted aloud to me.

"Hai, but maybe with this one he can find some way of holding just as deep a meaning as the last one" I replied, after all, this one was coming from me.

"A sword like this can be awfully expensive to have professionally made even if made from a cheap alloy" mentioned the Professor as he eyed the dimensions carefully.

"I've got a little bit saved up at home, but I don't think it'll be enough" I then said feeling downhearted for the first time since creating the drawing.

"I've got a bit saved up that you're welcomed to have" Kaoru offered encouragingly.

"And I've got some money in my piggy bank that may help" offered Ken.

"I've got a little left in my savings that you're more than welcomed to, also" offered Miyako.

"I was saving up to buy the katana everyone bought me for Hanukah, so you're welcomed to that" offered Kaarii as she continued to eye the drawing of the weapon almost longingly while subconsciously positioning her hands so as to take the weapon into her own hands.

"Or, you can all save your money and help me in creating the sword instead; we can make it out of an ultra-strong alloy and use a laser to sharpen the sword down to the molecular level to make it super sharp" offered the Professor while showing off a set of blacksmiths' vestments for each of us to wear and I gasped with excitement.

"You think we can be successful?" I inquired of him with newfound hope.

"We'll get started first thing tomorrow, but, someone is going to have to keep Luke busy so we can keep it a surprise" the Professor replied.

"I'll get Kuriko to keep him distracted" I replied with excitement and we all made our plans for the next day.

"And you can count on us to help with the forging process" Kanta added with a determined smile that his kyodai and Takaaki were mirroring.

The Professor then led me to his computer where he and I began discussing the alloy to use for the new sword and settled for using a composition of diamond dust, tungsten, and titanium. To my great surprise, when we were journeying home, a jeweler called me over and told me that they had seen the whole event of Mojo's destroying Blade's sword.

"I owe him a debt of gratitude for saving me from an armed robber and I'd like to offer my help to you in creating a new sword for him" the woman told me.

"But how did you know we were going to create a new sword for him?" I asked innocently.

"I overheard your conversation when you passed by my shop earlier. Onegai, come in and see if there's anything I can offer to help you out with" she said as she beckoned us entrance.

Our search wasn't long as I instantly noticed two ruby heart-shaped pendants, unpolished, and knelt down to look at them in amazement. The shopkeeper opened the case and extracted the two rubies and showed them to me.

"Sugoi, can you imagine those in the hand-guard of the new sword?" Kaarii gasped as she looked at the two large gems.

"Hai, they would fit perfectly. But there is iie way we could ever afford these, neither could we ask for them to be donated to the creation of Blade's new sword" I replied seriously as I began to turn away to leave.

"You want to bet?" the woman called after me. "I told you, I owe him my life and if these two little baubles are nani you need to help create Blade's new sword then by all means take them. I can mark these off on my taxes."

That said, she boxed them up for me and placed them into my hands as she kissed me on the forehead and I tearfully thanked her. We then left for home and I placed the two gems on my nightstand before slipping in between the sheets and fell asleep for the night as I dreamed of some future day when Luke and I would be husband and wife with his sword on his side.

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><p><strong>Carly:<strong> **Sugoi, Blade actually killed Mojo Jojo!**

**TCW: First time for everything.**

**Carly: True and I think I can guess as to nani the next chapter is going to be about.**

**Next time...**

**Kaarii: This is the first time I ever helped in creating a sword.**

**Kaoru: It's our first time too.**

**Momoko: I just hope it's well received.**

**TCW: All this and much, much more coming soon!**

**Carly and Momoko: Meanwhile, leave us some nice reviews, onegai!**


	27. A Beloved's Gift

**Arigato to all for your fantastic reviews! Now let's join in on the creation of…**

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><p><strong>A Beloved's Gift<strong>

I awoke early the next morning to see the boxes still sitting upon my nightstand and sat up to open them to see the two ruby heart-stones inside each box; running my hand over each one in great anticipation of their future. I quickly began to get dressed and to make my bed as I heard Mom calling to me that breakfast was ready.

I left out of my room to see Kuriko was also leaving from her room with her cane in hand and together we entered the daidokoro to get our breakfast. It had taken her almost a year, but Kuriko was just about walking on her own and using her cane less and less.

Luke soon arrived as he had promised to take Kuriko to the city museum and he greeted all of us warmly.

Giving me a kiss on the cheek, he asked, "Did you want to come along with us, Momoko-chan?"

"Iie, I already have plans for the day. Besides, this is supposed to be more of an oniisan/imoto bonding experience for the two of you" I replied as I returned his kiss, also on the cheek. Kuriko came walking up, with a bright, excited smile on her face and I knelt down a bit to give her a hug as I teased her, "Try not to steal my boyfriend from me now, okay?"

"Hai" Kuriko replied with a blush while rolling her eyes to the ceiling.

"Iie worries there; she's Ken's girl and you're my girl" Luke said with a grin as he kissed me again before taking Kuriko's hand into his own and, with a genial wave to the rest of us, the two of them left.

I then dashed up the stairs and returned to my room to retrieve the two large rubies and soon left for the lab, meeting up with Ami and Isamu at the street corner.

"Nani are you two doing here?" inquired Kaoru of Ami and Isamu; concerned that they may have already informed Luke.

"I called them last night to come and help out as long as they kept our plans a secret" I replied for them as we all began to change our clothes to proper blacksmithing vestments for safety purposes.

The girls were allowed to add in the metals and diamond dust into the vat while the boys began creating the mold into which the melted alloy would be poured. Though I felt kind of left out since I was instructed to just stand back and watch, I was instructed to hold the two rubies in my hands until the point in time where they would be added into the mold.

It was fascinating to watch as so many molds were made for each part of the sword to be crafted from. The blade, of course would be the longest one while the hand-guard was the widest.

Meanwhile, Kaarii and Kaoru were building a large, wooden box while Isamu and Miyako built a lid for it. Ami sat off to the side, sewing together a leather sheath for the sword.

"Momoko-chan, would you bring the rubies over here for a second; I want to make sure I've got their dimensions right in the mold" called Takaaki and I approached him as I carefully opened one of the boxes to show him the gemstone contained within. "Sugoi, Blade sure is going to be a lucky guy to be getting this sword. Ah, hai a perfect fit; arigato, Momoko-chan."

"Doitashimashite" I replied politely as I returned the one ruby to its box and closed it up.

"We're almost ready to start the pouring!" called Kanta while stirring the alloys together.

"Not quite, but very soon" the Professor corrected Kanta as he entered the room carrying some Chemical Z and poured it into the vat while Kanta continued to stir the mixture.

"It shouldn't be too much longer now" announced Ken as he began to help Kanta in stirring the new alloy together.

Pazu and Takaaki began to position the molds in preparation of having the alloy poured into them while the Professor hooked some chains and a pulley system up to the vat. The vat was soon lifted by the pulley and walked over to the molds where the alloy was carefully poured into them until they were filled, though a small amount still remained inside of the vat until a small container was brought over and the last of the alloy was poured into it.

"Now we just need to wait for the alloy to harden" the Professor announced as we broke to eat lunch.

When we came back, the molds were broken up and the new parts were removed from them. The Professor then began to assemble the weapon together, using the left over alloy as a solder to help seal it all together. After attaching the hand-guard to the blade and screwing it into place, he called me over to give him the two rubies in my hands. He then carefully soldered around them so that they, too, stayed in place, before wrapping a black leather strip around the grip and then attaching the pommel.

Once completed, the Professor wiped the blade off and began to add the rest of the finishing touches to the sword by engraving stars into the pommel and using a flat black, metal spray paint to blacken all but the cutting edges of the sword which had been taped over with painter's tape.

"Is the laser ready, Ken?" inquired the Professor after finishing the last decorative touches on the sword and removing the tape once the paint had dried.

"Hai, the laser is all charged up and ready to go" Ken replied with a thumbs up to his father.

Twenty minutes later, after diligently watching the sharpening process through special goggles, the Professor wiped down the blade with a cloth that he had dipped into some water and then polished with a special metal cleaner before slipping the sword into its new sheath and, with Kanta helping, placed the weapon on the ground in front of me as I held a length of black cloth in my arms.

Wrapping the new sword in the cloth, I was then aided by them into placing it inside of the crate and closed it up.

"Domo arigato gozaimasu" I then said with a bow to my friends as tears of joy streamed down my cheeks.

"Doitashimashite, Momoko-chan" expressed everyone.

"Now let's get it home before Kuriko and Luke return from the museum," added Ami excitedly.

Kaoru, Miyako, Isamu and Kaarii each took a hold of one of the twine handles and lifted the box while encouraging me to lead the way as the boys decided to remain behind to help with the cleanup.

Upon arrival at my house, we carried the box up the stairs to my room where we then transformed into our heroine forms. We then changed into our kimonos but, at Kaarii's suggestion, we remained barefoot. Mom, having been informed earlier as to my plan, eagerly offered to help us out.

When Luke and Kuriko arrived home, they were detained by my mother, who had set out a large cloth for us to walk back outside on so that our feet wouldn't get dirty, and instructed Luke that it was important that he become Blade for this small event.

"A rather strange request, but if it'll make them happy…" Luke replied before transforming into Blade. "Kind of hard to feel like being called Blade when I don't have a sword" he then added with a sigh, but, at my mother's instance, changed into a black kimono while also remaining barefoot.

This done, Berry exited the house first as she tossed down many flower blossoms, stopping when she reached Blade and formally bowed to him before returning to follow after us as we then exited the house. The four placed the crate down on the cloth before Blade, they then formally bowed to him as they retreated back behind me as I knelt down and presented the box to him.

Blade remained silent as he knelt down in front of the box while Mom and Kuriko stood silently off to the side.

"Allow us to present a gift of love from the one who loves you most dearly" Miyako, Kaoru, Isamu, and Kaarii said simultaneously from behind me.

"A gift from your first was lost and a gift from your second is now presented before you" Ami added semi-poetically.

At that, I undid the latches and opened the lid of the box for him as I explained, "I would pass the actual gift to you as per tradition, but it is too heavy for me to lift."

He then reached in and withdrew the contents, removed the cloth binding from the sword and after carefully examining the hand guard and pommel, withdrew the weapon from its sheath and held it up in the air to examine the blade closely.

Kaoru and Isamu then stood the box up on end to allow Blade to test the sharpness of his new sword and bowed their heads to him as they backed away to ensure they were out of range of the blade. Blade gave one quick swipe with the sword and the box was cleaved in half so finely that it remained upright for a few seconds after being cut before it fell to the ground.

"There's not even the slightest blemish on the blade; domo arigato gozaimasu, my love. It is a fine weapon" Blade said in astonishment and genuine love as he returned the sword to its sheath and knelt down before me to pull me up into a loving embrace.

The ceremony finished, we reverted back into our normal forms and the girls, along with Ami and Isamu, excused themselves to return home. Kuriko was excitedly talking with Mom about the displays at the museum as she was led up to her room for a nap while Luke led me to the furoba since I needed to take a bath.

"Domo arigato, for the new sword, Momoko-chan; I really do love it, though, not as much as I love you" Luke told me just before kissing me on the lips.

"I love you too" I replied as I returned his kiss while indicating him to begin undressing me.

He followed my lead and I soon stood before him in my lingerie when he stopped and kissed me once more as he bid me 'oyasumi nasai' before slipping out of the room and left for his own home while I finished undressing and began to get washed up.

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><p><strong>Carly: Aw, so nice to see that those two truly love each other.<strong>

**TCW: True.**

**Carly: So nani is in store for the next chapter?**

**Next time…**

**Momoko: I have an appointment with isha-sensei.**

**Luke: And I'm having trouble getting this new girl to leave me alone.**

**TCW: All this and more coming soon!**

**Carly and Momoko: Meanwhile, be sure to leave us some nice reviews!**


	28. Himeko's Return

**Arigato for the encouraging reviews! And next we all get to share in…**

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><p><strong>Himeko's Return<strong>

We had just returned to school after the holidays were over and much to my surprise, Himeko also returned. I was sitting at my desk when she entered the classroom, slowly approached, and began to start up a conversation with me.

"Himeko…I thought you were supposed to be in Juvenile Hall for 4 years" I said a little more forcefully than I had intended.

"I was permitted an early parole for good behavior and aiding a fallen officer during a violent escape attempt at the prison. How's your imoto doing; is she walking yet?" Himeko explained lightly.

"Hai, thanks to a very good friend who knows how to provide physical and massage therapy" I replied, surprised that Himeko could be acting so genuinely concerned for Kuriko's well-being.

"Well, that is good to hear. I truly am sorry" Himeko expressed with a sniff. "By the way, have you seen Kaarii; I need to speak with her."

"I wouldn't bother her right now; she's been having a bad day today" I cautioned her as I had unintentionally run afoul of her temper earlier. I then went into detail on nani all had happened:

~Flashback~

It started that morning when the strawberry pancakes she was cooking for breakfast burned; she was running late to school and didn't see the car that was coming or the mud puddle until it was too late and she'd been drenched from head to foot; while in science class, someone had placed an electrode in her chair which caused her hair to stand completely on end until she stood up; when leaving the oteari, she failed to notice the wet floor as someone had removed the warning sign and slipped to land hard on her o-shiri.

I had noticed this and ran up to inquire if she was daijobu when she began shouting and screaming at the top of her lungs as she rose up from the floor before storming off.

~End of Flashback~

"Arigato for the warning" Himeko said with a look of sympathy in her face.

"Momoko-chan, there you are; I've been looking all over the place for you" Luke said as he entered the classroom and came up to me. "Who's your friend?"

"Luke-chan, this is Shirogane Himeko; Himeko this is…" I started to make the introductions when Himeko interrupted me.

"Sugoi, you and I simply must get together sometime" Himeko said seductively as she began to come on to my boyfriend.

"Gomen nasai, but I already have a girlfriend" Luke replied with a sympathetic smile before leaning down to kiss me. "So, are we still on for our lunch date?"

"Gomen nasai, but I have an appointment to see my isha-sensei at that time" I replied disappointedly; I hated having to see my doctor unless I was actually sick.

"Daijobu, just remember nani I told you" he said with a smile.

"I know and I have your number on speed-dial" I replied with a giggle before Luke left for his next class.

"Nani was that all about?" inquired Himeko curiously.

"Well, I told him that I've always had this deep hidden fear that my isha-sensei is going to want to shove some ten needles into my arms. So Luke told me that if isha-sensei said I needed a shot or anything today, that I should call him and that he'd come right over to help me" I told her honestly.

"Ugh, I can relate to that feeling" Himeko replied with a light giggle of her own.

My mother arrived and I was excused from class to go to my appointment. At lunch time, however, Himeko would once again pursue Luke.

Luke's POV

Himeko met me at almost every turn since Momoko left for her appointment, trying to get herself into my arms, kiss me, or hug me.

During lunch in the cafeteria, I was sitting at mine and Momoko's usual table when Himeko came over, and slid into my lap while smiling up at me seductively as she asked me to kiss her.

"Look you are a very attractive young lady, but it's as I already told you, I have a relationship with Momoko and nothing is going to change that" I told Himeko firmly as I rose up from the table and left to go outside, much to her displeasure.

I decided that since I had a few minutes before the next class, that I'd wipe down my motorcycle when my phone began to ring.

"Moshi-moshi; Nani; I'm on my way" I said with a sigh as I mounted my bike and took off; Momoko had locked herself in the examining room and refused to let anyone in.

Momoko's POV

It was bad enough that the doctor had to get so personal in his examination, but to say that I needed to have my blood drawn and to be given my inoculations; _that_ was going too far for my comfort levels. Once he and kangofu-sensei left the room, I ran and slammed the door shut, locked and barricaded it, and then returned to the examining table where I began to cry my eyes out as I had been forbidden to bring my cell phone with me.

A few minutes later, isha-sensei and kangofu-sensei were trying to jiggling the handle so as to enter the room and I began to put my weight into keeping them out as I leaned against the door.

"Nani is the deal here; open this door, young lady!" isha-sensei shouted but I refused to budge.

"I'll get her mother" kangofu-sensei said with a sigh.

"Momoko-chan, you open this door right now!" I heard my mother shout.

"Iie, I'm not going to let them use me as a pin-cushion!" I shouted back.

"Just a moment" I heard my mother say quietly; I heard her start talking to someone and figured she must be on the phone with my father.

Things quieted down after a while, but I still refused to budge from the door. Soon there was a lot of quiet talking followed by a knock on the door and I braced to begin fighting once more.

"Momoko-chan, it's me koibito; can I come in?" I heard Luke inquire and I felt a wave of relief wash over me as I rose up, removed the barricade, and unlocked the door to let him in, wearing his Blade uniform, and he took me up into his arms.

I didn't care that I was naked save for the gown I was wearing as he asked of me, "Why didn't you call me like I told you to?"

"It's our policy that cell phones are prohibited in the examining rooms, so it's really our fault; we weren't aware of Momoko-chan's phobia" confessed isha-sensei.

Luke, now in his street clothes, sat on the examining table holding onto me while whispering sweet things into my ear while the doctor performed his blood draw. I was then given my inoculations in my other arm, and each hip which had me crying as it really hurt.

"You're all down now, Momoko-san" isha-sensei said after checking me over, disposed of his gloves, and turned to the sink to begin washing his hands.

"Momoko, why didn't you ever tell me you had such a deep fear of needles?" Mom inquired concernedly as she took my hand into hers and began to stroke the back of it with her thumb.

"I thought you'd consider me to be foolish and refuse to listen" I quietly answered with a sniff as Luke kissed me on the cheek.

"Phobias like that are nothing to be ashamed of, Momoko-chan. If you don't tell us, we can't help you to get through them" Luke replied as he set the bow back into my hair for me once I had finished getting dressed, though I had refused to let him leave the room.

"Well, you'll be happy to know that you're a very healthy young lady and I will expect to see you in about six months for your next check-up. Oh, and Armstrong-san, I'd really appreciate it if you came with her to make sure this kind of thing doesn't happen again" isha-sensei informed us with a chuckle and I just blushed with embarrassment.

Luke and I returned to school after that where we were greeted by Himeko, who began sounding off at Luke for abandoning her.

"And as I told you three times now, I have a girlfriend" Luke replied as he pulled me up to him and we began passionately kissing right there in front of her, much to Himeko's horror, till she turned her nose up to the air and sauntered away angrily.

"I think she finally got the point" I told Luke with a smile once we parted.

"I know you sure did" Luke replied and I began to smack and punch him in the chest playfully for teasing me about those blasted shots before he pulled me in for another kiss.

When we returned to class, I was permitted to remain standing in the back of the classroom as my o-shiri still smarted from the two injection sites and even Luke stood with me so that I wouldn't feel quite so inconspicuous.

Later, after class, Himeko approached and demanded of Luke, "Tell me, nani does she have that I don't?"

"That's just it, I love everything about her; her smile, her personality, everything about Momoko-chan is just perfect to me" Luke replied while looking at me and for the first time I've ever known her, Himeko nodded her head in acceptance.

"Then you're in love with more than just her simple looks, aren't you?" she asked of him.

"Hai; I see her smile and I see the sun; I hear her laugh and I hear music play; I hold her hand and I feel like I'm walking on a cloud; I touch her hair and I feel the softest material on the planet; when we kiss, I'm in paradise" Luke told her before breaking out in song:

_She's better than the best  
>I'm lucky just to linger in her light<br>Cooler than the flip side  
>Of my pillow, that's right<em>

_Completely unaware_  
><em>Nothing can compare to where<em>  
><em>she send me, lets me know that it's okay<em>  
><em>Yeah, it's okay<em>  
><em>And the moments where my good times start to fade<em>

_She makes me smile like the sun, fall out of bed_  
><em>Sing like bird, dizzy in my head<em>  
><em>Spin like a record, crazy on a Sunday night<em>

_She makes me dance like a fool, forget how to breathe_  
><em>Shine like gold, buzz like a bee<em>  
><em>Just the thought of her can drive me wild<em>  
><em>Oh, she makes me smile<em>

_Even when she's gone,_  
><em>Somehow she comes along just like<em>  
><em>A flower pokin' through the sidewalk crack<em>  
><em>And just like that<em>  
><em>She steals away the rain, and just like that<em>

_She makes me smile like the sun, fall out of bed_  
><em>Sing like bird, dizzy in my head<em>  
><em>Spin like a record, crazy on a Sunday night<em>

_She makes me dance like a fool, forget how to breathe_  
><em>Shine like gold, buzz like a bee<em>  
><em>Just the thought of her can drive me wild<em>  
><em>Oh, she makes me smile<em>

_Don't know how I lived without her_  
><em>'Cause every time that I get around her<em>  
><em>I see the best of me inside her eyes<em>  
><em>She makes me smile<em>

_She makes me dance like a fool, forget how to breathe_  
><em>Shine like gold, buzz like a bee<em>  
><em>Just the thought of her can drive me wild<em>

_She makes me smile like the sun, fall out of bed_  
><em>Sing like bird, dizzy in my head<em>  
><em>Spin like a record, crazy on a Sunday night<em>

_She makes me dance like a fool, forget how to breathe_  
><em>Shine like gold, buzz like a bee<em>  
><em>Just the thought of her can drive me wild<em>  
><em>Oh, she makes me smile<em>  
><em>(Kaarii, Kaoru, Miyako: Oh, she makes him smile)<em>  
><em>Oh, she makes me smile<em>  
><em>(Kaarii, Kaoru, Miyako: Oh, she makes him smile)<em>  
><em>Oh, she makes me smile<em>

"Good luck then, and may you two have a happy life together" Himeko then told him as she turned and walked away.

I then approached Luke and wrapped my arms around his neck as we embraced each other and kissed passionately. He then lifted me up into his arms and we left the school to return to my place since we were studying together that night in preparation for our finals. Kuriko met us outside when we pulled up and tossed aside her cane as she ran up and threw herself into Luke's arms so that he could see how well she was doing. We both embraced and kissed her on the cheeks to let her know just how proud we were and even our parents stood in the door smiling with tears of joy in their eyes as Kuriko could walk and run again.

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><p><strong>Carly: I didn't expect to see Himeko back so early.<strong>

**TCW: True and there will be more on the escape attempt later on.**

**Carly: Duly noted. So nani is in store for the next chapter?**

**Next time…**

**Momoko: Sakamoto is trying to get me to return to him once again.**

**Kaarii: Only this time, I think he's gone stupid in the head, especially when he challenges Luke to a kendo match.**

**TCW: All this and more coming soon!**

**Carly and Momoko: Meanwhile, onegai, be sure to leave us some nice reviews!**

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><p><strong>Author's Note: Song is "Smile" by Uncle Kracker and can be found on YouTube and purchased on Amazon.<strong>


	29. Sakamoto Strikes Again

**Thanks for the really great reviews, all! And next we join Momoko and Luke as…**

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><p><strong>Sakamoto Strikes Again<strong>

Finals week arrived and with it more Sakamoto problems. It was the afternoon before the big test and I was in the classroom helping with the clean up after classes when Sakamoto entered the room and approached me.

"Momoko-chan, we need to talk" Sakamoto said firmly as he snatched the broom from my hands.

"I have nothing to say to you, Sakamoto" I replied as I took back the broom and went back to sweeping.

"Nani about the dozen roses I bought you for Christmas; I don't recall receiving an 'Arigato' card" he told me with a growl.

"Oh, were those from you; gomen nasai, I thought they were a delivered to the wrong address" I replied with a smile.

"Don't give me that garbage, you knew very well who they were from and you still threw them out into the snow; I was there!" he shouted at me.

"Do you have a point to make; I need to get this finished so I can get to my date with Luke-chan" I replied, keeping my voice and temper in check.

"Luke-chan, Luke-chan, Luke-chan; nani does that baka have that I don't?" Sakamoto asked snidely.

"Manners to begin with" I replied as I retrieved the dustpan to sweep up the dirt on the floor.

"Look, I will do anything to make you mine again, but one thing I will not do is to give in to my friends' suggestions of raping you. Now tell me; nani do I need to do to get you back?" Sakamoto demanded as he grabbed hold of me by my upper arms to make me look him in the face.

"Stop behaving like a baka for one; look, can't we just be friends? I iie longer have feelings for you, Sakamoto; I love Luke" I replied honestly hoping he would understand.

Luke then entered the classroom and looked at Sakamoto quite hard. Releasing me, Sakamoto glared at Luke for a few minutes as he took me into his arms.

Sakamoto then walked up, punched Luke in the face, knocking him to the floor, and declared, "You and me, in the gymnasium in ten minutes; we're going to have a kendo battle to decide who gives up pursuing Momoko-chan."

I dropped to my knees and wrapped my arms around Luke in concern as Sakamoto stormed out of the door and headed for the gym while I inquired, "Are you daijobu, Luke-chan?"

"Baka's got a death wish; I'm daijobu Momoko-chan. I went down so he wouldn't accidentally hit you" Luke told me as he got back up on his feet and pulled out his cell phone. "Kaarii-chan, can you meet me in the gymnasium in about five minutes; I need for you to act as referee in a kendo match between me and Sakamoto."

I followed after Luke as he headed for the gym where Kaarii met us, holding two kendo swords.

"Be careful, Luke-chan" I told him as I gave him a good luck kiss on the cheek.

"Where's my kiss, Momoko-chan?" Sakamoto asked confidently and I gave him a fierce look before retreating from the arena to stand on the sidelines and cheer Luke on.

Luke allowed Sakamoto to make the first choice of the two swords and soon took the remaining one into his hands and began to hold it somewhat confused.

"Nani is wrong, Luke-kun?" Kaarii asked quietly.

"Nothing, it's just been a while since I had to fight with an over-grown toothpick" Luke replied with a light chuckle which Kaarii shared before taking her spot at the referee's station.

"Hold up a second!" called out Ami as she and Isamu came running up with a set of bracelets in hand for Luke.

"Hey, iie special equipment allowed!" declared Sakamoto, afraid that Luke might get an unfair advantage.

"Normally I would agree, but these are to make sure Luke-chan doesn't hurt Sakamoto in the event he loses his temper" Isamu replied with a bow to Kaarii since she was acting as referee.

"They're inhibitors that won't let me release these in our fight" Luke informed those gathering as he held up one hand, showing his claws, and quickly retracted them so Ami could strap the remaining bracelet over his hand.

Seeing the relieved look on Sakamoto's face, Kaarii announced to the crowd, "Objection overruled. Three hits and the match is over, also, if your opponent succeeds in knocking your weapon from your hand, it qualifies as a hit. Iie strikes to the head, neck, or anywhere below the waist line or you lose a point; is that clear? Take your places, turn, bow, and ready…begin!"

Sakamoto took the offensive and began to slash, jab, and swing at Luke with all of his might, while Luke took the defensive and with little effort evaded all of Sakamoto's attacks, sidestepping at one point to let Sakamoto pass by him when Luke turned and gently tapped him on the shoulder.

"Point: Luke; take your places and prepare for round two" Kaarii announced and I cheered for Luke.

Round two began with Luke taking the defensive once again as Sakamoto began attacking with ferocity once more, till he had Luke pinned against a wall and made ready to jab Luke in the stomach.

Luke parried and held his sword's blade against Sakamoto's and began to circle it with a lot of force until he was able to slip his blade underneath Sakamoto's and, with one quick upward thrust, sent Sakamoto's blade rocketing from his hands and up into the air, catching it as it came back down and held both pointing at Sakamoto's chest.

"Luke 2; Sakamoto nothing; take your places and prepare for round three" Kaarii called out as Luke dropped Sakamoto's sword to the floor in front of him.

As Luke was walking past Sakamoto, he picked up his sword and slapped Luke across his back.

"Foul!" Kaarii called out angrily.

"Shove it! I will _not_ lose my Momoko-chan to the likes of _you_!" Sakamoto screamed as he made ready to bring his weapon down on Luke's head.

Suddenly, Luke's arms shot up and he caught the bamboo blade in his hands, stood up, and with one quick thrust of his hand, snapped Sakamoto's blade in two before throttling Sakamoto in the mouth and sent him crashing onto the mat.

"Two things wrong with that: one, Momoko-chan is not yours, and two, you lost her before the fight began" Luke told him as I ran into Luke's arms and kissed him soundly as those gather began applauding and whistling at us.

Kaarii's POV

While watching and smiling at my friends as they kissed, I noticed Sakamoto rise up and leave the gymnasium to sit out on the steps of the school and began crying quite heavily. As I exited the school, I saw him sitting there and wiping his eyes, when I decided to sit down beside him to talk.

"You know, I don't really think you and Momoko would have been a happy couple. I remember my first boyfriend. I thought the world of him until he began to assault, abuse, and molest me and all so he could look good in front of his friends. On the few occasions when he would present me with a gift, it would turn out to be stolen and I'd be the one getting in trouble for the theft. When they arrested him and I presented to the police all that he had stolen, I felt like a great weight had been lifted from my shoulders and felt nothing but freedom from that day on. He wasn't the one for me and I don't think Momoko was the one for you, Sakamoto-kun. But don't worry, your true soul-mate is out there waiting for you, you just have to know where to look" I told him comfortingly.

"So you really think there's someone out there for me?" he asked of me with a few sniffs.

"Hai, I really do, I mean, anything's possible" I told him with a warm smile and soon even he was smiling.

"Arigato for the pep-talk, Kaarii-chan" Sakamoto said appreciatively as he hugged me out of gratitude before running off for home. 'Where have I seen Luke-kun's claw-blades before?' Sakamoto inquired of himself.

Momoko's POV

Luke and I met up with the rest of our friends at the lab to have one last heavy study session before the big test the next day. We studied and tested each other until nightfall and then bid each other oyasumi nasai before heading for home, with Luke walking beside me. We kissed passionately when we reached my door until we were interrupted by my father clearing his throat and then Luke left while I headed on up to my room where I changed into my pajamas and went to bed, dreaming of the two of us as a married couple.

Elsewhere

Sakamoto was tossing and turning in the night as he dreamed of Luke beating him down and now the two stood over him kissing passionately when he suddenly sat straight up in his bed, covered in sweat and breathing heavily when he made a starting discovery, "Luke is the Powerpuff Boy, Blade!"

"Go to sleep, Sakamoto" called his mother from the other room and so Sakamoto lay back down to fall back to sleep.

The next day

We met up and slowly walked to school while discussing the day's itinerary and the big test. Kaarii and Miyako were excited but the rest of us were a bit nervous.

"As long as we do our best, we should have nothing to worry about" Luke offered to bolster us as we passed through the school gates.

We all gave pause when we spotted Sakamoto standing at the entrance with both hands gripping onto the shoulder straps of his backpack. He sent me a blank look before casting his eyes to the ground as he saw that Luke and I were holding hands and slowly walked away in silence.

We then continued on in silence heading for our lockers where we stored our gear before heading to class. The tension in the school was so thick you could cut it with a knife as we all sat down at our desks. Once our sensei entered the room, she instantly began passing out the tests and informing us that we were not to begin until she told us to.

"Daijobu, now I know you're all nervous about this but, onegai, I want you all to take in a deep breath, hold it, and release it. Now, you have exactly four hours to finish this so pace yourselves. When you finish just raise your hand and I will come by to collect your tests. Ready…and…begin" she told us and we turned our tests over to begin them.

I had just finished answering the last question when I heard sensei announce, "Daijobu, time's up. Onegai, turn your tests in and head to lunch."

We all quietly turned in our tests and soon my friends and I met up together at one table in the cafeteria which was unusually quiet as students merely whispered to one another.

"I know I did my best, but I get this feeling that I may have failed the math section of the test" I heard Isamu say quietly to Kaoru.

"I know how you feel" she replied, equally quiet.

"I think I flunked the history part" Ami whined to Pazu.

"That's alright, I think I failed the grammar part" Pazu replied with a sigh.

"Look guys, let's not count our chickens before they hatch" offered Kaarii with a light smile.

"Who's counting chickens; we're concerned about our grades on the test" piped Kanta in confusion.

"It's an old Western proverb; it mean don't predict events until they occur" Luke informed us and I smiled up at him.

"In other words, don't expect to be failed on any part of the test until the grades are announced" Takaaki said in further explanation and we all nodded our heads in acceptance of this.

Just then Sakamoto began to walk past us when he gave pause to look at me and Luke once more before continuing on his way to an empty table.

"Nani is up with that guy?" Isamu asked in annoyance.

"He's coping with losing me to Luke" I replied as I snuggled up closer to Luke until he wrapped his arm around me.

"Hey everyone; they're posting the results of the test right now!" Jesse, the school newspaper reporter, announced over the sea of whispers and everyone began to quickly jump up to dash to the bulletin board where the grades were posted.

"Should we join them?" asked Ami apprehensively.

"Iie, let's wait for the crowds to die down and then we'll check" offered Josh, though we could all see the anxiousness in his eyes.

Half an hour later, as the crowds did indeed dissipate, we walked to the bulletin board and read over it carefully.

"We passed!" Ami and Isamu cheered as they hugged each other and Luke.

"We all did" I said with a bright smile before we returned to class.

We then began the tedious process of cleaning out our desks, turning in our books, and then headed to our lockers where we even cleaned them out. Of course, when I opened my locker, a water bomb went off drenching me from head to toe and we all could hear a certain goofy laugh as Sakamoto took off running from the school.

"I just hope he doesn't end up in the same university as the rest of us" I said with a frustrated sigh as I held Luke in place; he was going to pursue Sakamoto and pound him but I decided to let it go.

"I just wish you'd let me put him in his place" Luke said with a sigh.

"Well, I look at it this way: now that I'm wet, when we return to my place I get the privilege of changing my clothes in front of you" I said with a coy smile to Luke and he blushed deeply.

"Oh, and I guess you all know that we still have to pass the entrance exam to attend the university" Miyako reminded us.

"We know, we know" Isamu replied in annoyance.

"Not me; I'm already going the Japanese division of St. Marie Academy" Kaarii announced to us.

"Really, so when do your classes start?" I asked of her, hoping that she would at least be able to spend some time with the rest of us before going back to school.

"In about eight weeks" she informed us and we all breathed a sigh of relief.

"Well, first we have to graduate" Ami reminded us.

"That's only two days from now" Pazu replied.

"And I've made our reservations to spend the next seven weeks at Hotel Pearl Piari" Luke announced.

"Ah, a beach vacation sounds downright lovely" Miyako said in appreciation as Luke passed us our reservations.

"Well, we catch the bus Saturday morning, so let's head home and start packing!" Kaarii cheered and we all took off running for home, though Luke and I went to my home together.

After about an hour of making out, Luke and I were called down to dinner.

"So, how long until you decide to propose to my daughter?" dad inquired of him.

"I figure sometime after graduating from college" Luke replied honestly.

"Have you got your things packed up for this weekend, Kuriko-chan?" I asked of her in anticipation.

"Hai, I can't wait either!" Kuriko replied excitedly.

"Ken's coming too, right?" I then asked of Luke.

"Of course, and he's really excited about it, too" Luke replied with a smile.

"Well, you children have fun, but make sure to keep things clean" Mom reminded us and we all blushed in reply.

After dinner, Luke bid us oyasumi nasai while Kuriko and I headed for the furoba.

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><p><strong>Carly: Something tells me that we've still not heard the last of Sakamoto.<strong>

**TCW: How right you are.**

**Carly: I figured as much; so nani is in store for the next chapter?**

**Next time…**

**Kaarii: It's our graduation ceremony!**

**Momoko: And once again, Sakamoto rears his ugly head.**

**Ami: At least we have a nice few weeks ahead of us and away from him.**

**TCW: All this and much, much more coming soon!**

**Carly and Momoko: Meanwhile, be sure to leave us some nice reviews!**


	30. Graduation

**Arigato for all of the great reviews, everyone! Next, let us join the girls as we bring to a close Part 2 with…**

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><p><strong>Graduation<strong>

Graduation Day and things were going smoothly, so far. As I put on my gown and hat, I eyed myself in the mirror to make sure I was looking presentable. Kaoru and Miyako were beside me, doing the same, with Ami and Isamu just behind us removing their gowns from their garment bags to get ready alongside us.

"I don't know; I just can't get this thing to sit right…there" Kaoru fussed with her hat until she set it at a cocky angle so that it would reflect her personality.

"I just can't wait for this to all over and done with; I'm so nervous I can't even think straight" Miyako, one of the two class valedictorians, complained while fidgeting with her own cap.

"Tell me about it, but at least we have seven weeks of fun at the beach to look forward to" I replied as I stepped aside to allow Ami to check herself in the mirror.

"That reminds me, we finally heard back from the Professor as to whether or not he and our imoto-tachi would be able to attend the graduation ceremonies, but he had to decline" Ami informed us with a sigh.

"I heard that Luke intends to wear his new katana on his robe's sash in case someone tries to disrupt the ceremony" Isamu told me and I felt a wave of excitement run through me.

"Great mind think alike; I'm doing the same thing" Kaarii, the other class valedictorian, told us and we all let out a small giggle as we finished dressing before starting to read over the speech she was to give.

We were exiting the ladies' room when we ran into the one person whom I had been hoping to avoid: Sakamoto. He had that look of mischief in his eyes when he looked up at us and for the first time that day, I felt a qualm of nervousness flow through me.

"Well, don't you look pretty, Momoko-chan, though you'd be even prettier in a wedding gown" he complimented me and I glared at him.

"Nani are you doing here; shouldn't you be getting dressed?" I asked of him with an obvious look of distrust on my face.

"Right, I'll see you later, Momoko-chan" Sakamoto replied as he walked away.

"Nani was that all about?" inquired Isamu after we had put some distance between us and Sakamoto.

"I don't know…come on, we've got a ceremony to attend" I replied quietly as we walked out into the gymnasium to take our seats, separating as we had to sit in alphabetical order by our family names.

I began to feel a bit vulnerable sitting alone without my friends when Luke came up behind me and whispered into my ear, "Ami told me nani happened a few minutes ago, are you daijobu?"

I turned to look up at him with a pout but nodded my head that I was fine.

"After you get your diploma, come sit with me and the girls; I'll handle that Sakamoto-baka after the ceremonies" he told me as he kissed me on the cheek and I nodded my head in agreement as we were suddenly called to order for the events to begin.

I paid little attention to Kaarii's and Miyako's speeches, having already heard them many times while they were rehearsing, and it felt like an hour had already gone by when kouchou-sensei finally began to call us up to receive our diplomas. When my name was finally called and I proceeded to the stage to receive my diploma before being dismissed to return to my seat, though I kept walking and sat down in Luke's lap as per our agreement, despite the weird looks I was receiving from the sensei-tachi.

About two more hours later and Luke was called to receive his diploma and I sat in his chair, nervously waiting for his return as Ami and Isamu were just ahead him and once again, I felt vulnerable.

Luke soon returned along with Ami and Isamu, their diplomas in hand, and we stayed together until after the ceremony so as to leave to our changing areas together.

When the girls and I entered our changing room, we all stopped to notice an envelope that had been taped to the mirror with my name on it.

I pulled it down and slowly opened it to find a note from Sakamoto inside and began to read it aloud:

"_Momoko-chan, I know that over the years that you and I have been growing further and further apart and this hasn't been easy for me to accept. Seeing you in another man's arms only added to the anger I was feeling with both you and myself; but mostly myself. I asked you nani it was that I lacked but that you found in Luke-kun and everything you told me I realized to be true but did not know how to deal with my own ineptitude. _

"_I acted in denial and this also led me to act foolishly, only I wouldn't truly see this until the match between me and Luke. His words and your actions cut me deeper than anyone could have ever done with a sword. With my failures and both yours and Kaarii's words, I know now that I can never match up to your standards, Momoko-chan, and so I bow to you as I leave from you for the time being._

"_But if anything, I have also come to understand that I'm me and iie one and nothing can ever change that; this is who I am and maybe, just maybe, somewhere out in this big world, I will find my happy ending, Momoko-chan. So it is with a heavy heart and enlightenment that I say 'Sayonara, Momoko-chan, and I hope you truly find happiness with Luke.'_

"_However, onegai let us not leave off on a hard note and meet me in front of the school for at least one final hug before we part. – Sakamoto"_

"I don't know, I wouldn't trust that rat for all the rice in Asia" I heard Isamu say from behind me.

"I agree with Isamu-chan; knowing him, it's probably a trap of some kind" Kaarii added in suspicion.

"I don't know, I mean, he did politely ask for you to meet him" offered Miyako with Ami nodding her head in agreement.

"I guess there's only one way to find out" I replied as I returned the note to its envelope.

We then changed out of our gowns and headed for the front of the school where I spotted Sakamoto standing with his back to the school and his hands shoved deeply into the pockets of his jacket.

"You wanted to see me, Sakamoto-kun" I quietly called to him as I slowly approached.

He turned and our eyes met, pausing to consider one another, and soon embraced each other.

"Sayonara, Momoko-chan, may your greatest dreams and expectations come true" Sakamoto murmured into my ear.

"Take care of yourself, Sakamoto-kun" I replied as we parted.

"Hey, Luke-kun, or should I say Blade-kun, you'd better take real good care of Momoko-chan or I'm going to come back here and give you a piece of my mind" Sakamoto said as Luke approached us and gave a Luke a friendly punch in the arm.

"So you figured it out, huh? Well, you'll have to get in line; there are many others who will want to do the same. Take care, Sakamoto-kun, and behave" Luke replied in good humor as he and Sakamoto shook hands before Sakamoto began to walk towards his car, stopping to laugh that annoying laugh of his before climbing in and driving away.

"I always hated that laugh of his, but in a way, I think I'll miss him" Kaoru said as she and the others walked up and waved sayonara to Sakamoto until he was out of sight.

"Iie you won't when you see nani he did to the back of your skirts!" Miyako announced with her hand cupped over her mouth as she stared at Kaarii's, Kaoru's, Isamu's, and Ami's underpants.

"_I'm gonna kill the bum the next time I see him!_" the four girls screamed in unison.

The boys then approached while removing their jackets to wrap around the girls' waists as Pazu announced, "Hey, we need to be getting home to grab up our bags and head over to the lab!"

"Right!" we all replied excitedly as we all headed off for home, though Luke walked with me as he knew that Ami and Isamu would collect his bags for him.

Upon arrival, we were met by Kuriko and my parents, our bags waiting for us in the entrance hall, and we quickly gathered up our bags, with Luke helping to carry the heavier items while Kuriko and I carried the lighter bags.

While walking to the lab, I asked of Luke, "Nani do you think the chances are of us seeing Sakamoto in college?"

"Knowing him, highly unlikely for most of us, but unless he's sent somewhere else, he'll probably wind up attending alongside of Isamu and Kanta" Luke replied as some of us were attending medical college while Kaarii and Josh were attending culinary school; Kaoru, Rikiya, Isamu and Kanta were going into business management.

We were soon joined by Kaarii who immediately took notice of Kuriko's quiet demeanor and so asked, "Is something bothering you, Kuriko-chan?"

"Hmm, iie, I was just thinking about how I'm beginning High School next year. I'm excited about it, but at the same time, I'm nervous" Kuriko replied honestly.

"I know how you feel; I felt the same way when I was your age and am now feeling that way about attending school at Saint Marie Academy" Kaarii told her with a smile while sweat-dropping.

"Are you absolutely certain that they abolished the Freshman-hunt, oneechan?" Kuriko then inquired of me.

"I'm sure, and anyways, you shouldn't have to be too concerned about that for at least a couple more years" I told her with a smile as I brushed a stray lock of her hair from her eyes before sharing a hug.

"Hey, we were beginning to worry if you guys were going to show up!" called Rikiya with Kaoru standing at his side in her bikini.

"You've got to admit, Rikiya has been a positive influence on Kaoru-chan" Kaarii noted quietly to me.

"Hai, he has, hasn't he?" I replied with a grin just before we began to hasten our pace to the lab.

"Nice bikini, Kaoru-chan" Kuriko complimented her as we approached.

"Arigato, Kuriko-chan; I was trying it on to see how well it fits" Kaoru replied as she took Kuriko's bags from her and the two of them retreated back into the lab.

"It's going to a rough next seven weeks" I heard Rikiya complain and I turned to look at him to take notice of the strong blush in his cheeks.

"Look at it this way: at least the girls won't always be wearing their bikinis and will be their normal clothes" Luke suggested and Rikiya nodded his head in agreement.

"Hey, if you guys don't hurry up and get in here, you're going to be stuck eating cold pizza and ramen" Isamu called as she stuck her head out the door with a slice of pizza in her hand.

Running inside, we joined our friends as we all enjoyed dinner together when after a while, Kaarii asked, "Remind me: nani time is the bus supposed to arrive?"

"Seven o'clock in the morning" Luke answered and we all turned to take notice of the time.

"Well, we had best start cleaning and getting cleaned up then" Ken noted to the rest of us as the boys soon dismissed us girls to the furoba to start washing up while insisting that they be allowed to handle the clean-up.

When we were exiting the furoba in our pajamas and nightgowns, the boys were heading in and smiling at us only for us to give pause when we heard Rikiya say, "I still say that this is going to be a rough seven weeks" only to receive a playful smack across the head from Luke as they all continued on to the get cleaned up themselves while we girls enjoyed a brief giggle together.

"If he thinks it's going to be rough now, just wait until I show him the bathing suit I really intend to wear" Kaoru noted to us with a grin while blushing deeply.

"Enjoy putting yourself on display, Kaoru-chan; as for me, I'm wearing a modest two piece" Kaarii said with a dismissive wave while heading for bed.

Soon the boys came out, wearing their own pajamas and we all bid each other oyasumi nasai before heading off for our rooms. Isamu and Ami shared one room, Miyako and Kaoru another, while Kuriko and I shared yet another room with a cot brought in for Kaarii to sleep in. Luke and Ken shared a room, Kanta and Pazu shared another, while Takaaki and Rikiya shared yet another room with Josh.

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><p><strong>Carly: Sounds as though things are going to get hot in the next chapter.<strong>

**TCW: Not too hot, though; I've got to keep things clean or I won't be able to maintain the 'T' rating.**

**Carly: True; so nani is in store for Part 3?**

**Next time, in Part 3: Vacation…**

**Momoko: We're boarding a charter bus for some fun in the sun at the beach!**

**Kaoru: Some relationships will grow…**

**Miyako: Laughs will be shared…**

**Kuriko: Fights to be had…**

**Kaarii: And forgiveness to be given.**

**TCW: All this coming and still a whole lot more, coming soon!**

**Carly and Momoko: Meanwhile, be sure to leave us some nice reviews, onegai!**


	31. Part 3 & Week 1

**Arigato for the reviews and, as a small reminder, I have managed to get together a list of the Japanese words on my profile page so that those who would like to know nani (what) is being said may feel free to look it up by visiting my page; just right click on my name and select open in New Tab from the dropdown menu. But, let the waiting cease for the time being and get the show back on track as we begin…**

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><p><strong>Part 3: Vacation<strong>

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><p><strong>Week 1<strong>

The next morning, we all woke up and began to drop our bags off in the lobby before heading off to enjoy a hot, surprise breakfast courtesy of our parents who snuck over about an hour before our alarm clocks sounded.

"I don't know; I'd feel a lot more comfortable if a chaperone was going along with you kids" noted Tokio, though more to Kaoru and Rikiya than to the rest of us.

"We'll be staying in a group most of the time, dad" Kaoru replied gently as she was trying not to provoke him with a stronger comeback.

"Not to mention that we will be surrounded by adults during our stay anyway" added Rikiya in a calm voice so as to keep from having Kaoru's parents pull her from the trip.

"To say little for the fact that Luke is about as grownup as they come" Kuriko chimed in while smiling up at Luke.

"Hai, well while I'm sure that is very true, you can't detract from the fact that even he may be tempted more than a time or two to all himself to be distracted by Momoko" my mother noted to us when she peeked under the table to see me and him playing footsies.

"True, but I will also be acting as overseer alongside of him since I have iie interest in any kind of romantic inclinations towards anyone" noted Kaarii rather bluntly.

"You don't think you might be tempted to even be interested in at least one of your companions on the trip?" her father inquired.

"Not…a…one" Kaarii replied firmly as she crossed her arms. "I made that mistake once, but never again."

"We'd best be getting to cleaning up; the bus should be here in about fifteen minutes" Luke noted to the rest of us and we all quietly rose up to drop our dishes off in the sink before heading upstairs to brush our teeth.

Right on time, our bus arrived and honked loudly. With the bus driver's assistance, we packed up our things into the storage compartments, boarded, and were soon off and on our way with Luke riding just behind the driver's seat.

Ami and Isamu played cat's cradle together; Kaarii read a book; Ken used his netbook; Kuriko curled up next to me and took a nap; and I just enjoyed the scenery once we reached the country roads. Josh, Kanta, Rikiya, and Pazu played poker together; Kaoru played video games on her portable device; and Luke remained in silent meditation. Miyako and Takaaki remained in the very back of the bus quietly making out.

"Look, I know you two are happily engaged, but could you onegai keep the noise down. I can't concentrate" Kaarii rebuked the two who just looked up at her with mildly hurt looks on their faces.

"Of course, gomen nasai" Miyako said as she and Takaaki sat up to stare out their separate windows.

"Why don't you come sit up here, Kaarii-chan; the bus's engine drowns out much of the background noise" Luke said as he invited her to trade places with him.

When she rose up and came over to sit down in his seat while he moved across the way to sit beside me, he sent her a concerned look which she simply ignored.

"How long did you say this trip would take?" asked Isamu as she stood up to stretch her arms a bit as they were stiffening up on her.

"About…another three hours; are you two okay?" Luke asked and she nodded her head to him before sitting back down.

Kuriko then woke up and looked over to Luke and began quietly whispering in his ear.

"There's a small one in the back of the bus" he then replied to her with a smile and she asked of him to escort her.

"I'll take you, Kuriko-chan; I kind of need to use it myself" Kaarii then spoke up while smiling to her and the two of them soon departed to the very back of the bus.

"Nani are they talking about?" I asked of Luke curiously.

"They needed to use the oteari" he replied to me and I began giggling; I had iie clue that there would be one on board a bus like this.

"I think flying would have been a lot faster" commented Pazu as he moved to a different seat after losing four hands to the other three.

"Hai, but there are iie planes that travel to where we're going and this is cheaper" Luke replied as he looked up to notice Kaarii and Kuriko returning to their seats.

Stopping Kuriko before she could sit down, he moved into her place and pulled her up to sit on his lap instead so that he could sit beside me. I then leaned my head upon his shoulder and soon drifted off to sleep, with Kuriko doing the same but using his other shoulder.

"We'll be pulling into a rest stop in just a few minutes to allow all of you to get out and stretch your legs for a little while" the driver soon announced over the intercom after about another hour's traveling.

Upon arrival at the rest stop, we all stepped off to get some fresh air and stretch out a bit, though one thing that didn't go unnoticed were the unhappy looks Miyako and Takaaki kept sending Kaarii as they disappeared into a large group of flowers while Kaarii headed over to stand by a tree and leaned against it to continue reading while waiting the summons to board the bus once more.

"You're the one she respects more than any of us; why don't you go and talk to her, Luke-sempai" suggested Kanta in mild concern.

"I know I'm sure not going to be the one to do it" Kaoru noted to the rest of us while slightly hiding behind Rikiya.

"I could try, but I know she doesn't like me" mentioned Josh with a sigh of disappointment.

Luke then walked over towards Kaarii and leaned against the tree beside her as he asked of her, "Would you like to talk about it?"

"Gomen nasai, but nani is there to talk about?" she asked of him innocently.

"I was referring to your snapping at Miyako and Takaaki…and about your comment at breakfast today" he told her in genuine concern.

"Permission to speak with you in confidence?" she requested of him and he nodded his head as she took hold of his hand and led him back onto the bus to talk in privacy.

They were gone for quite some time when I noticed them exit the bus as he told her, "Daijobu, I'll keep this between us but I think you should apologize to Miyako and Takaaki so as to make amends."

"I'll take care of it right now" Kaarii replied as she approached the young couple and immediately apologized to them with Miyako forgiving her with a hug.

Back on board the bus, we all sat in silence until we arrived at our destination where we were eagerly greeted by the group of ladies who ran the hotel in which we were staying.

"Kon'nichiwa, and welcome to Hotel Pearl Piari; I do hope you'll enjoy your stay with us these next few weeks!" greeted the young woman in charge, we would later learn that her name is Taki, with a bright smile.

"Domo arigato, I'm most certain that we will" Luke replied on our behalf as he helped me in stepping off of the bus.

Taking in a deep breath, I released it as I said, "Would you just smell that lovely, fresh, sea spray-filled air!"

"I'm sure you are all quite hungry from your travels, so why don't you all head on inside and enjoy the wonderful repast that we have set out for you in the dining area while we tend to your bags" offered another young woman as she bowed to us respectfully.

We accepted the offer and went inside while the bus driver and hotel attendants unpacked our bags onto a small cart and brought them inside to wait for us at the front desk. After a fulfilling lunch, we then gathered our bags and were soon led to our rooms where we unpacked them for our stay. Kaoru and Miyako would share one room, Isamu and Ami another, while myself, Kaarii, and Kuriko would share yet another room together on one side of the hotel while the boys were on the opposite side.

After the unpacking was finished we were all invited to take a nice hot bath together which had many of us looking at one another in mild concern until we were informed that it was really a divided bath with the boys on one side of the high wall and the girls on the other. Nodding our heads in agreement we all headed for the antechamber where we undressed before walking into the main room with the giant o-furo.

"Wait a second, nani is the deal with the giant picture window?!" Kaarii asked in concern which we all mirrored when we entered the room to see a full view of the outside and soon felt quite exposed.

"Don't worry; it's only a mural which resembles a picture window of nani the view would be if it actually were a window" Taki-san explained as she knocked on the wall to show us that it was indeed a wall.

"That's a relief" I noted with a sigh.

We then began getting scrubbed up when the attendants entered to wash our backs for us, much to our surprise, before helping us to rinse off so that we could enter the hot water of the o-furo. We all enjoyed the hot water immensely, though we all looked forward to playing on the beach the next day.

"There are alarm clocks in your rooms for you to use, or we can give you a wake-up call in the morning" offered Taki as she re-entered the room with us as we all changed into our pajamas for the night before being directed to another room where we all enjoyed a nice, relaxing cup of tea before bidding each other oyasumi as we headed for our rooms.

The next morning, after a nice hot breakfast, we sat around the main lobby deciding on nani we should do next: enjoy the beach and surf, sunbathe on the deck, site-seeing, or souvenir shopping.

"Personally I think we should go site-seeing so as to get a lay of the land and find out where everything is" noted Luke to us as we all began trying to argue our points of view.

"I think Luke-kun has a point. We should figure out where everything is first so that we know where all the eateries, gift shops, and such are" added Kaarii after giving Luke's suggestion some thought.

"True and it's not as though we're short on time to do everything else around here" Miyako replied with a smile.

"So are we in agreement then?" Takaaki asked of the group.

"Hai" we all replied as we rose up, slipped into our sandals, flip-flops, or water socks, and headed out to begin our site-seeing venture.

While out wandering around, we girls spotted a clothing store that specialized in ladies' beach-wear and so entered while dismissing the boys to the local arcade, though Luke remained outside the clothes store to make sure we would remain safe.

An hour later, and we exited the store giggling and chatting together while carrying shopping bags in our hands when we gave pause to notice Luke standing beside the entrance and looking as though he were dozing. I reached up one hand and gently tugged on his shirt's sleeve and he turned to smile at us as he nodded his head in acceptance that we were unharmed.

"Arigato for waiting for us, Luke-sempai" expressed Miyako appreciatively as we crossed the street to the video arcade.

"Doitashimashite, Miyako-chan, I wanted to make sure you girls remained safe since the city has that 'iie swords' law" Luke replied seriously.

"Oh, the boys are coming over" noted Kuriko as she indicated the boys to us.

"Man, when was the last time they updated that place?" we heard Kanta complain.

"Doesn't seem like they have since the mid-1980's" Ken replied while shaking his head.

"I didn't even know those old games still existed" added Pazu with a sigh.

"Nani is wrong, the outdated games too simple for you?" Kaarii asked smartly only to receive dirty looks from the guys.

"Forget the arcade, let's go check out the theater!" proclaimed Josh as he pointed to the movie theater a little ways down the street.

"It looks rather quaint" Miyako said as we all stood in front of the old building.

"Hey, they're getting ready to start a marathon of Hayao Miyazaki movies; can we go inside and watch?" inquired Kuriko excitedly and we all agreed eagerly.

We all got our tickets and entered the building to be directed to the complimentary concession stand where the boys got large tubs of popcorn for all of us to share as well as large, individual sodas.

We waited for the boys to join by the entrance to the theater when a group of boys came up and kept trying to come on to us. One even slipped behind me while wrapping his arms around my waist and directed one of his hands down my shorts when the boys came up.

"Hey, baka, you want to take your hand out of my girlfriend's shorts or do you wish to lose it?" Luke asked of the guy holding onto me quite firmly.

"Hey, check out the tourist trying to tell me nani to do! Why don't you back off before I decide to hurt you" the guy jeered back at Luke.

I then turned around and belted the guy right in the mouth and, when he released me, I went to take the things from Luke's arms to let him handle the baka better.

"You little witch, you busted my lip! When I get through with your boyfriend, you can count on me busting you up" he growled at me while wiping blood from his bottom lip.

We then heard the sounds of someone simultaneously unsheathing six knives and all took notice of Luke as he'd released his claw-blades and said, "Good, I need a new scratching post!"

"Dude, dude…dude!" one of his cohorts said with a strong look of fear on his face.

"Oh my gods!" said another as he began to back away from him.

"Oh hell iie!" noted the one who had threatened both of us as sweat began to bead upon his forehead.

Just then, a security officer walked up and began to studiously apprehend those who were causing us trouble while he simply told us, "Great job in catching these guys; they have many outstanding warrants for their arrests on multiple counts of sexual molestation of young girls and a rather hefty reward on their heads. However, I feel it important to remind you that we have a strict policy against carrying weapons in this town."

In reply, Luke pulled in his claws so that the officer took notice of the fact that they were actually a part of him and not merely being 'carried'.

The officer then took down Luke's name and the address of the hotel in which we were staying so as to deliver the reward once they had been taken to jail and incarcerated.

We were then dismissed to enjoy the movies and after watching 'Ponyo', 'My Neighbor Totoro', and 'Kiki's Delivery Service' we then headed back to the hotel. Upon arrival, Taki greeted us while handing Luke an envelope with a check and a letter of appreciation signed by the mayor.

"50,000,000 yen, sugoi; looks like this vacation is on the city" noted Kaoru as she read the numbers on the check over Luke's shoulder.

"Iie, I think Luke-chan should do whatever he pleases with the check and not spend it on all of us" I replied while smiling up at him.

"Arigato, Momoko-chan, but for now, I think I'll deposit it into my bank account; I saw an ATM on the way back" he replied before pocketing the check as we all sat down together to discuss nani to do for dinner.

Later that night, as Kaarii and Kuriko were returning to our room after taking their baths and while I was changing into my pajamas, having already taken my bath, Kuriko sent me a slightly concerned look.

"Nani is the matter, Kuriko-chan?" I asked of her with a concern of my own as I patted the side of the bed for her to come sit next to me.

"I think your boyfriend is a monster, Momoko-chan" she said quickly and buried her face into my arm as she began crying.

"Nani; where on earth would get you a crazy idea like that?" inquired Kaarii as she joined us in sitting on my bedside.

"You saw those metal claws come out of the back of his hands today, didn't you?" Kuriko asked of her in reply.

"Hai, I did, but then that wasn't the first time I've seen them either. But more importantly, when does that make someone a monster?" Kaarii replied with patience while running her hand through Kuriko's hair in a comforting manner.

"I saw in an American comic once that there was this guy who had claws like that and he went around acting like a nekkyo kichigai attacking anything and everything. He could turn into that at any moment!" Kuriko replied as she pointed towards the door in referring to Luke.

"Oh, you saw an old X-Man comic featuring Wolverine, huh? That's just the way that character was depicted through most of the comic book world and Luke-kun is nothing like that. He gave you massages and physical therapy to help you literally get back on your feet, didn't he?" Kaarii explained to her with a warm smile.

"I'll let you in on a secret, but this can't leave the room, understand?" I told both of them and, when they agreed to keep the secret, I told them the story of Luke's origins as well as that of Ami, Isamu, and their late sister. "So you see, while even though he has those claws in his hands, he only uses them to protect those he cares about much the same way Kaarii does with her katana."

"Arigato for telling me, Momoko-chan; I really do feel better now" Kuriko replied just before I snatched her towel off of her, tackled her to the bed, and began blowing raspberries on her tummy until she was giggling and squealing with delight and yawning.

I then slid her pajamas onto her and pulled her into our bed as we settled down for the night.

The next day we all slid into our bathing suits, lathered on the sunscreen, and we all headed out to enjoy the sunlight, surf, and sand. Kuriko and Ken went beachcombing for sea shells while Luke, Takaaki, Miyako, and I played a round of couples' beach volleyball. Kaoru, Rikiya, Kaarii, and Josh all went surfing, with the girls showing up the guys. Of course, it would turn out that Rikiya kept wiping out because he couldn't stop staring at Kaoru and thus wasn't paying any attention to his own surfing. Meanwhile, Isamu and Ami were letting their boys bury them in the sand before they began making out with them.

However, all the fun was quickly brought to a halt when we heard Kuriko scream out, 'Tasuke!"

We all took off heading for her location when we all spotted a beached dolphin on the shore and Kuriko was quickly dumping water over the animal's body with her small pail that she had been using to collect sea shells in.

"Nani are you all standing around for; we've got to help this poor creature" she fussed at us when we stopped to watch as Kaarii, Ken, and Luke examined the dolphin.

"Gomen nasai, Kuriko-chan, but we're too late…it's gone" Luke said as he took her into his arms and hugged her tightly.

"Nani are you talking about?" Kuriko asked of him as she continued to stare at the dolphin.

"Kuriko-chan, this animal died somewhere while out at sea, probably from some kind of illness" Kaarii told her sadly.

"Girls, why don't you all go see nani the ordinances are for disposing of the remains" Takaaki suggested to us as he could see that it was upsetting some of us, Miyako especially.

I alone returned to the scene to help with Kuriko, telling the others as I got to within hearing range, "The city is sending a truck over to pick up the remains to dispose of the poor creature properly. But we're expected to remain here and keep the other beachgoers from messing around with the body until they arrive."

"It makes sense; that way iie disease can be spread around" Ken commented quietly.

Soon a truck arrived and as the four people climbed out of it, a woman exclaimed, "Well, well, well, so Old Thor has passed on to the great ocean in the sky."

"You knew this dolphin?" I asked in slight confusion.

"Sure, virtually everyone around here knows Old Thor. He had a reputation for hating people; broke a few swimmers' legs, bit another dozen or so, and once chased a diver all the back to shore from the reef. I was just a little girl when this animal was already full grown, so I'm amazed he lived this long. It must have been his tenacity" the woman told us as she and the men with her donned some gloves and began setting out a tarp along with a couple of poles to make a stretcher.

"So you're saying that he died of old age then" Ken surmised as he and the rest of us stepped out of the way as they began to roll the dolphin's body onto the stretcher.

"Hai, and it looks like his pod pushed him ashore by his being beached horizontally; if he'd been sick, he'd have beached himself vertically" the woman explained to us as she and the three men hefted the animal's carcass up in the stretcher and carried it to the back of the truck to carefully lay it in the truck's bed.

"Nani will you do with Thor now?" inquired Kuriko as she continued to stare at the deceased animal with sadness in her eyes.

"We're going to bury him in a place where he'll not be disturbed" the woman explained as she looked to Kuriko with sympathy in her eyes.

"Come on, everyone, there's nothing else for us to do here and we'd best be getting cleaned up" Luke announced solemnly and we all soon departed to return to the hotel.

We all headed for the furoba to get washed and scrubbed up, though, since I hadn't touched the animal's remains, I helped Kuriko to scrub up with some antibacterial soap so as to remove any traces of disease she may have had on her skin, and even encouraging her to use some hand sanitizer, so that she wouldn't become sick while eating dinner.

The following day, we all decided to go on a whale watching tour where we enjoyed the fresh air, sun, and watching the many different species of whales, even getting the thrill of watching a humpback whale breaching a couple of times.

From there we went for another tour of the city, only this time we visited the historical district before returning to the hotel for the night.

Unfortunately, it began raining for the rest of our first week, but we did find ways of keeping ourselves entertained. There was table tennis in the basement, massages were provided by the hotel's massage therapist, hot tubs to enjoy, and, when all else failed, we also enjoyed the televisions that were in our rooms as well as the large one in the main lounge. Though, since Miyako was spending the day reading a book together with Takaaki, Kaoru and Rikiya remained up in Kaoru's room making out in privacy.

At one point, Luke was walking by and knocked on the door before calling in, "Keep it clean, you two."

"Party-pooper" Kaoru replied as she stuck her head out the door and gave Luke a slightly dirty look before Rikiya pulled her back inside as he told her, "Get back in here before you get in trouble for wearing that bathing suit."

Luke then came over and sat down beside me on the couch and I curled up next to him as I said, "She's probably tormenting him while wearing her thong-bikini."

"As long as they refrain from doing you-know-nani, I don't care nani she's wearing; I promised our parents that we would all return with our honor intact" Luke confessed to me with a sigh and I moved to sit on his lap while kissing him soundly on the lips.

"I can't wait until we're married so you can take my honor and show it who's boss" I told him at one point before we indulged in another round of passionate kissing.

"The weather report is on" noted Kuriko to us as she and Ken entered the room to turn up the sound on the television.

_"…rain coming to an end tonight. __And for tomorrow, clear skies with a high in the mid to upper 80's with a light breeze gusting up to only four miles per hour__"_ the forecaster reported before giving the camera a polite bow and we all let out a light cheer.

Standing up and stretching my arms out with a yawn, I turned to Kuriko and said, "Well we'd best be turning in if we want to enjoy the beach tomorrow."

"Hai; oyasumi to tanoshi yume, Ken-kun" Kuriko replied before bidding Ken a good night.

"Oyasumi to amai yume, Kuriko-chan, Momoko-chan" Luke bid to both of us as he and Ken were also heading up to turn in for the night, though Luke would have to break up Rikiya's and Kaoru's make-out session.

Politely knocking on the door first, Luke quietly entered with Miyako just behind him to find Kaoru, her bathing suit on her nightstand, and Rikiya curled up together though she was under the covers of her bed and he was asleep on top though still in his swim trunks.

Giggling quietly, Miyako whispered to Luke, "Rikiya-kun sure has had quite the effect on Kaoru-chan, hasn't he?"

"Hai, but I need to make sure these two are under constant surveillance at all times so that they don't try to take things a step further when we're not looking. Either that or Momoko is going to be burying me instead of marrying me once we get home and her father finds out" Luke replied, also in a whisper, with a sigh before shaking Rikiya awake.

"Nani do you want; I'm trying to sleep" Rikiya complained as he disengaged himself from Kaoru and turned to stare, bleary-eyed, at Luke in annoyance.

"Gomen nasai, but it's time for bed and Miyako would really appreciate it if you would vacate to your own room so she can change her clothes" Luke quietly told him as he indicated Miyako sitting on the side of her bed with a change of clothes in her arms.

Rikiya then stood up and began to follow Luke out the door when Rikiya gave pause to tiredly say, "You should try sleeping in the buff, Miyako-chan; you go through less clothes that way."

Miyako blushed deeply and Luke smacked Rikiya across the back of his head before gently shoving him out the door and then turned to apologize to Miyako as he left the room, shutting the door behind him.

Takaaki stopped Luke as he was following behind Rikiya and said, "I heard nani he told my Miyako-chan."

"Forgive him; he's tired and still a little hormonal from his and Kaoru's make-out session" I replied on Luke's behalf since Rikiya was my itoko.

"Then you and Luke had better keep him in line where _my_ Miyako is concerned or I may be forced to defend her" Takaaki told me firmly before turning and storming off to his room.

"Something tells me that this vacation isn't going to be all that it's cracked up to be" I told Luke with a bit of concern in my voice.

"Don't worry, I'll handle it; you and Kuriko just go and get some sleep" he told me with a kiss on the cheek and I left for my room to find Kaarii already in her bed and sound asleep.

Kuriko was still up and waiting for me with only a soft light on so as not to disturb Kaarii and I began to get undressed, slipping into the bed with nothing on while Kuriko looked at me in mild confusion until I reached over and began undressing her. She quickly got the idea and we both cuddled up in bed together to fall asleep.

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><p><strong>Carly: Sounds like rough water ahead where Rikiya and Takaaki are concerned.<strong>

**TCW: Hai, but only time will tell.**

**Carly: True, so nani is in store for the next chapter?**

**Next time…**

**Momoko: We're starting Week Two!**

**Luke: More fun to be had…**

**Kuriko: More relationships to grow…**

**Takaaki and Rikiya *glaring at each other*: A fight to be had…**

**Kaoru: Apologies to be made and forgiveness to be shared…**

**Kaarii: And a few new opponents to be put in their places.**

**TCW: All this and more, coming soon!**

**Carly and Momoko: But only if you all remember to leave us some nice reviews!**


	32. Week 2

**Thank you all for the great reviews! Now, let's get ready to join our friends as they begin...**

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><p><strong>Week 2<strong>

There was an obvious tension in the air the following morning while at breakfast, though it seemed to be directly emanating from Takaaki towards Rikiya who simply looked puzzled by Takaaki's anger. Even Miyako refused to even speak to my itoko that morning and purposely went around him to request the butter for her biscuit. The rest of us just looked at them in concern.

"So nani does everyone feel like doing today?" Luke asked so as to redirect our attention.

"I hear that there's a rather lovely diving tour of the reef that I think we should look into for some time this week" I noted as I passed him the pamphlet with the information.

"Would either of you ladies care to go wading with me a little later?" inquired Miyako with a smile.

"Sure, I'd love to; though I'm not too sure if I'd be able to" Kuriko replied concernedly as she was still experiencing a few twinges in her back.

"It's alright, Kuriko-chan; Momoko and I will also accompany you to make sure you remain on your feet" Kaoru replied and I eagerly nodded my head in agreement.

"You can count me and Ami in on that too, but first, how about we spend the next hour sunbathing?" Isamu added cheerfully.

"Now that sounds like fun" Kaarii added as she rose up from the breakfast table to head upstairs to slip into her bathing suit.

Rikiya was standing up to return to his room when Takaaki grabbed a hold of his arm in a menacing manner and threatened him, "Stay away from and do not speak to _my_ Miyako-chan or I will personally bury you, head first, in the sand up to your ankles."

"Come off of it, I have iie interest in _your _Miyako as it is _Kaoru_ whom I'm infatuated with" Rikiya replied as he yanked his arm free of Takaaki's grip and left for his room.

"Take it easy, Takaaki-kun" Pazu said in concern.

"Hai, Rikiya-kun has eyes for Kaoru only" added Josh from beside Luke.

"You didn't hear nani _that_ baka said to _my_ Miyako-chan last night!" barked Takaaki in anger.

"And I told you that he was really tired; exhaustion can sometimes be as intoxicating as drinking too much liquor. He didn't really know _nani _he was saying or _who_ he was saying it to" Luke informed him and Takaaki began to settle down a little.

"I know, how about a game of table tennis to help take away some of that aggression, Takaaki-kun" suggested Kanta and soon the two were heading off to the game room.

We girls met up in the main room while in our bathing suits and began to lather ourselves and each other up with sunscreen so that we could enjoy the morning sun. Naturally, Luke watched over us while we sunbathed, threatening any guys who would even look in our direction.

Once our hour long sunbath came to an end we all took off for the water to play in the surf. Rikiya was accompanying Luke in keeping an eye on us so as to avoid running afoul of Takaaki.

Miyako reached the shore line first and suddenly screamed out in pain, causing the rest of us to give pause as we glanced down at Miyako's feet and legs: they were enveloped by jellyfish.

"Oh iie, sea nettles! Quick Luke, run inside and grab a bottle of vinegar from the cooks while I try and get her out of there" Rikiya shouted as he ran up and quickly took hold of Miyako by her midsection and began to drag her back to shore.

Luke soon came running up with the rest of the boys in pursuit and passed the vinegar to Rikiya who began to pour the substance over Miyako's feet, ankles, and legs. Takaaki saw Rikiya kneeling down beside Miyako and became filled with rage.

"I said to stay away from my Miyako-chan!" Takaaki screamed as he began to charge towards Rikiya with intention to hurt him.

"Knock it off, Takaaki; he's trying to save her life!" Luke firmly replied as he caught hold of Takaaki and held him in place while indicating the jellyfish Rikiya was carefully removing from Miyako's legs while wearing protective gloves.

"I'm…having…trouble…breathing" Miyako told Rikiya with pain and fear in her eyes.

"Iie, come on, you've got to stay with us!" Rikiya told her with tears forming in his eyes.

"Nani is the problem?" I asked as I knelt down beside Miyako and took her hand into my own.

"She's either sensitive or allergic to jellyfish stings; I don't have the tools with me to help her" Rikiya said as he broke down crying in fear of losing a friend. "I never even got the chance to fully apologize for my stupidity from last night."

"Healing Hand" a voice said as we all turned to notice Blade, now kneeling in the sand as well and holding onto Miyako's other hand as he began to channel healing energy into her.

We all looked away when the bright light surrounding her got to be too much for us to bear and, when it faded away, Miyako looked up at all of us before sitting up and embracing Rikiya as she murmured "Arigato for getting those things off of me, Rikiya-kun, and I forgive you. And arigato for saving my life, too, Blade-sama."

"Miyako-chan, about last night; domo gomen nasai; I never meant to speak out in such an inappropriate manner like that " Rikiya apologized to her whole-heartedly.

"Daijobu, I forgive you" Miyako replied gently as she placed a reassuring hand upon Rikiya's shoulder.

"Domo arigato, Miyako-chan" Rikiya said with a smile.

"Iie, domo arigato for saving my life" Miyako replied as Takaaki came over to kneel down behind her and embraced her lovingly.

"I also wish to say arigato for saving my Miyako-chan and can only humbly wish for your forgiveness for my actions towards you last night and today" Takaaki expressed to Rikiya while tearfully embracing Miyako.

"Doitashimashite, I hate losing my friends" Rikiya replied with a bow of his head to the two of them.

"Daijobu, let's return inside, get some lunch, and then allow Miyako to rest up from her ordeal" Luke said, having long since returned to his normal form, and everyone soon nodded their heads in agreement.

After lunch and while Takaaki was watching over Miyako as she took a nap, Rikiya took the opportunity to call up Miyako's obaasan to inquire as to whether or not she knew about Miyako's being allergic to jellyfish stings. Apparently Kyoko had never heard as to one way or the other and so between the two of them it was decided that this would be noted to Miyako's isha as soon as possible so that the information could be placed into her medical records.

Things remained quiet for the rest of the day and, although we knew it was to be expected, we were later disappointedly informed by Miyako that she had iie wish to go into the water for the rest of the trip.

"I can understand how you feel, Miyako-chan, but there are ways of avoiding the stinging tentacles of jellyfish whenever you go into the water" Luke informed her gently.

"There are?" we inquired in surprise.

"Hai, believe it or not, but down in Australia where they have those really deadly box jellyfish, many people don pantyhose on both their arms and legs since the stinging cells of the tentacles can't penetrate the material and just brush off" Kaarii informed us, though it was obvious that Miyako was still uncomfortable with the idea of going near the water.

"Still, though, given Miyako's circumstances, I think it would be for the better if she avoided any and all jellyfish" Rikiya told us while Kaoru was dozing off in his lap.

"Either way, we still have lots of time to figure it all out since our personal diving tour isn't for a couple more days" Josh announced as he had been making the reservations for us.

"Great, meanwhile, how about getting washed up and heading off to bed; though I think one of us is already asleep" Luke noted to us while indicating Kaoru who was completely out while leaning her head down upon Rikiya's shoulder.

"She isn't the only one" I added while running my hand through Kuriko's hair as she was asleep with her head upon one of my legs.

Lightly giggling at the two sleepy-heads, we carefully carried them up the stairs to our rooms where we laid them down in their respective beds before kissing them oyasumi nasai. I then slipped out of the room with Kaarii beside me as we headed to the furoba to get cleaned up before turning in for the night ourselves.

The next morning, after another hearty breakfast, Kaarii was lying on her beach chair in the sun while reading the latest copy of her favorite manga. She was wearing a modest two-piece pink bikini with a sun-skirt that went down to a few centimeters below her knees. Her top covered her neckline down to an inch above the navel and the design was pink with red strawberries all over it, and her hair was down, as usual.

A shadow was soon cast over her, and Kaarii looked up to see three boys, all of whom seemed older than her by at least a year, and they were smiling at her with cocky looks on their faces and their six-pack abs showing while wearing different colored trunks.

The boy standing in the middle had slick-combed black hair with brown eyes, wearing deep red trunks. The one on the left was a red-head boy with black eyes, green trunks, and his hair was spikier. The boy on the right was a dirty blonde with his hair covering his left eye and wearing a pair of black trunks.

"Um... may I help you?" Kaarii inquired, sweat dropping behind her head.

"Un, babe," the boy in the middle said, putting his hand close to Kaarii's in an attempt to grab it. "You can let us treat you to a meal later on tonight."

"Way to woo the babe, Takeshi!" the boy on the left said.

"Show the lady who you are!" the boy on the right said.

"Gomen nasai, but I have iie intention of going about with some random strangers, much less finding a boyfriend" Kaarii said, as she turned her body away from the trio.

The blonde walked in front of Kaarii and then knelt down to her, taking her free hand into his, and then he kissed it, only to for Kaarii to snatch it away and say, "As chivalrous as that is, I don't buy it for one second."

"Akira, you almost had her!" the red-head said.

"Gomen nasai" Kaarii said, standing up and walking over to a recycling bin to dispense of her juice-box of lemonade.

"Lady, at least let us treat you, girl" the red-head said, putting his arm around Kaarii.

"More like being arrogant to a T, if you ask me" Kaarii said, breaking from the boy's grasp.

"Even Chiaki couldn't charm her? Impossible! Iie girl can resist the Charming Trio!" Takeshi said.

"Oh, so you admit that you three are just flirtatious and not seriously sweet on any girl you confront? That's repulsive!" Kaarii said, shocking the three.

"You... You... You little bitch! You owe us!" Akira swore in anger and frustration.

"Do watch your mouth. I just _loathe_ playboys like you three. As far as I'm concerned, finding love is the least of my priorities." Kaarii said, as she was about to walk away.

"This girl... is the first one to shoot us down, ever! Akira, Chiaki, time to bring out the big guns!" Takeshi said, before the trio suddenly changed into badminton uniforms and holding racquets.

"Badminton; this is simple. I was on the varsity team in high school," Kaarii said, taking out her racquet. "But three-on-one is just cowardly!"

"Then allow us to accompany you, Kaarii-chan" spoke up Kaoru as she and I exited the hotel to join her, also with badminton racquets in our hands.

"Fine, three-on-three it is! Best three out of five and if we win, you girls are going to be our dates tonight!" Chiaki announced firmly.

"Gomen nasai, but Kaoru and I already have steady boyfriends" I replied in all honesty.

"I don't give a damn; these are the terms of the game" Akira yelled back from the other side of the net.

"Very well, but if we win, you three little boys are to walk away from here, hanging your heads in shame, telling everyone whom you come across just who it was that put you three in your places, and are to never bug us again!" Kaarii called back, just loud enough to make sure they had heard her.

"As if that'll happen, but fine; you girls get the first serve" Takeshi announced as he gently swatted the birdie over to our side of the net.

We let Kaarii take the front while Kaoru and I took the right and left rear of the court while Takeshi took the front and his companions took the rear of their court. Kaarii made the first serve only for Takeshi to return it, but towards me. I swung hard and sent it flying back over the net towards Akira. He returned it just shy of the net only for Takeshi to rush forward and dive to return it to our side when Kaarii leapt up, connected with the birdie, and sent it smacking into the sand just behind Takeshi before he could even stand up.

"That's Girls – 1 and Boys – zip; your turn to serve" announced Kaoru only for the boys to send us a glare.

The second round also went to us girls when both Kaoru and I swung for the birdie at the same time so that the boys couldn't tell which one of us had hit it and so all three ran to the center to return the birdie only to run into each other as the birdie fell off and to the rear left. Needless to say, the three of us had a good laugh off of it, but the boys only looked up at us with anger-filled eyes as they moaned and groaned as they stood up.

The third round went to the boys as I tripped and fell while trying to get to the birdie. Painfully rising up while Kaarii and Kaoru gave me the once over to ensure I wasn't too seriously injured, it was my turn to endure getting laughed at but decided to take it all in stride. We were still ahead by one point and we were sure to get our third winning point in the next round. Taking our positions once again, we noticed the boys in a huddled group and seemed to be whispering something to one another until they suddenly said, "Break" and took their positions once again.

Kaarii served the birdie over the net and it flew off in Akira's direction. He ran up underneath the birdie and swatted it to Chiaki while Takeshi called out as his teammate was returning the birdie, "Careful, girls, you don't want to lose your tops!"

In concern for our own modesty, we quickly aborted our preparation to return the birdie to double check our bikini tops only to find they were still securely fastened but the birdie still landed right between the three of us.

"I don't believe it; those guys are resorting to cheating" Kaoru noted with a growl to me and Kaarii.

"So I noticed; taking advantage of our self-consciousness like that is totally underhanded" I replied with a scowl, though not noticing Luke, Rikiya, and Josh gathering to watch.

Just as Kaarii served the birdie back over the net, the boys sent a bag of sea shell fragments sailing over the net and thus spread them over our side of the court. Between trying to keep the shards from our eyes and trying and failing not to step on them, we lost the fifth round and the boys immediately came over to our side to take us firmly by our arms and began to force us away.

"You jerks, the only reason you guys won was because you cheated!" Kaarii shouted in annoyance.

"True, but since we won anyway, you're now ours to do with as we deem fit" Takeshi announced haughtily as his friends began chuckling as they glared down at us lustfully.

"I have a better idea" another, yet familiar, voice said from behind the boys and they all turned to look behind them.

There stood Blade, Blast, and Bash with their weapons drawn and with angry looks in their eyes.

"I say we play a little game of 'chicken'; whoever turns and runs for their lives leaves the girls alone for the rest of their natural lives" explained Bash with a semi-evil smirk on his face.

"I'm game for that" Blade said as he pointed his buster sword at Chiaki as he was already trying to take hold of my bikini top so as to remove it.

"And just who the Hell are you guys?" Takeshi asked of them fearfully.

"We're their boyfriends" Blast replied while indicating Kaoru, Kaarii, and myself as he began twirling his claymore over his head.

"I think we should run now" Akira noted to his friends.

"I think you're right" Takeshi said in agreement.

"I think I wet myself" mentioned Chiaki as gazed down at the wet spot on the sand beneath him before the three of them took off running for their lives.

The six of us then started chuckling as Blade took me into his arms while Blast did the same of Kaoru while inquiring of us, "Are you ladies alright?"

"Hai, we are now thanks to you" Kaoru replied before planting a kiss on Blast's cheek.

"Speak for yourself, I cut my heel on one of those shell shards" I noted while gazing down at my foot and the blood that was starting to dribble off of it.

Kaarii remained quiet as she took hold of Bash's outstretched hand and rose up to her feet as she said quite firmly, "Look, I appreciate your assistance, Bash, but for the record, remember: I am _not_ looking for any kind of romantic tie-ups with you or any other boy for that matter."

Bash bowed his head in acceptance of this and turned to walk away to return inside of the hotel. Blade then carried me into the hotel where he poured fresh water over the cut on my heel before using his Healing Hand technique to heal the wound.

"Any clue as to nani is eating Kaarii-chan, Blade-sempai?" inquired Kaoru as she quietly entered my room with Blast behind her.

"Hai, but I'm currently not at liberty to discuss that issue" he replied before reverting back to his street form.

Later, while at dinner, Miyako was sitting nervously in her chair and merely picking at her food when I inquired of her, "Are you daijobu, Miyako-chan?"

"Iie, to be honest, I'm terrified of tomorrow's excursion" she replied while wiping a tear from her eye.

"Well, don't be; I canceled our original plans and the underwater tour company agreed with me on the decision when I explained to them why it was I was canceling. However, I did manage to get us tickets for Friday to do something quite similar, but we won't have to get wet in order to do it, nor will we come into contact with the majority of the creatures either" Luke replied with a smile to her.

"I don't understand; where are we going?" inquired Kuriko in confusion.

"There's a really large marine aquarium close by" Luke answered and Miyako released a great sigh of relief, as though someone had just lifted a really heavy load from her shoulders, as she smiled up at Luke appreciatively.

Come Friday, we all excitedly rode in a bus over to the local aquarium while Luke passed the tickets around to each of us; Kaarii agreed to film the whole excursion. Our first stop was labeled as the 'Tidal Pool' where the touch tanks were kept. We were able to touch and pet many small species of sharks as well as some varying species of rays, and we even got to hold starfish and sea urchins in our hands though we had to make sure to keep them underwater.

"I never knew sharks and rays had such course skin" noted Miyako to the rest of us.

"That's because they're skin is made up of dermadenticals, or, quite literally, microscopic teeth" Kaarii informed us ahead of the aquarium's staff member while we washed our hands just before heading over to some of the larger tanks.

Our next stop was the tanks with some of the more unusual species like the nautilus, some squids, as well as crabs and lobsters.

"Dad sure could have made a feast with that one there" Kuriko said to me while indicating a rather large spiny lobster.

"Un, but if you remember correctly, dad's favorite part is the claws and these don't really have much in the way of claws" I replied to her while looking at tank with a couple of scorpion cod inside of it.

"I think the fish are missing from this tank; all I see are a bunch of rocks" noted Kanta as he was looking into another aquarium.

"Uh, Kanta, those are rock fish, they're supposed to look like that" noted Isamu as she pointed to one of the fish when it began to swim around the tank.

When we reached the next part of our tour, Miyako froze up and stared at the many tanks full of jellyfish with fear in her eyes.

"It's alright, Miyako-chan, they can't hurt you in there" Takaaki reassured her with a hug as he placed one hand upon the acrylic tank.

Miyako also reached out and placed her hand upon the acrylic tank as well while apologizing to us.

"I don't understand; how come they have freshwater jellyfish in a touch tank when they can hurt you?" Kuriko inquired as she stared into the pool of jellyfish.

"Because they _can't_ hurt you; they can't sting you as they feed on plankton" replied the staff member standing by the tank as she stuck her hand into the tank to stroke the head of a jellyfish.

Miyako was still understandably shy of the idea and so we decided to forgo trying to touch the creatures to move on to the next area marked as the 'Shark Tank'. We entered this long tunnel and were soon looking up into a tank full of sharks. There were sand sharks, hammerhead sharks, blue sharks, angel sharks, saw sharks, and white-tipped reef sharks. We soon even came upon the preserved remains of a full grown great white shark, though it looked more like it was sad than the vicious, blood-thirsty monster we'd long since been led to believe it to be.

Our next stop was labeled as 'The Undersea Land of the Giants'. The first tank held both a couple of giant Mekong freshwater stingrays and catfish. The tank after that held four giant electric eels inside of it. But nani caught our attention the most were the giant Manta rays which were also in a massive tank with four full-grown whale sharks.

"I'd sure hate to run into a shark that big in the wild" noted Ami to us nervously.

"Don't worry Ami-chan; despite their large size, they, like many species of whales, eat only the smallest of creatures in the sea called phytoplankton and zooplankton. It's the same with the Manta rays" Luke informed her with a smile as we gazed up at the giant animals.

We soon afterwards left for 'Mammal Marsh' where the dolphins, seals, sea lions, manatee, and dugong were kept.

"I think Melville's 'Moby Dick' was highly overrated" noted Isamu as she stared into a tank with a few white whales in it.

"In the tale of Moby Dick, the whale was a full-grown albino sperm whale; these are beluga whales and that's as big as they get" Kaarii informed her with a light chuckle.

"I recognize the many species of dolphins in this tank, but I don't recognize the two black ones" noted Josh to us as we gathered around to watch the creatures at play.

"Are those pilot whales?" inquired Kaarii also in slight confusion.

"Iie, those are false killer whales" answered a staff member for us before going into detail of how they derived their name from the fact that, much like the Orca, they also have been noted to attack, kill, and eat other cetaceans, they otherwise have iie real relationship to their much larger cousins.

"Hai, well if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go see the killer whales" Kaoru replied, speaking up for the first time since we arrived.

When we arrived, we noticed that the tank look empty until, as Miyako began to try to peer deeper into the water, four large, black and white whales dove down into the water simultaneously and scaring her so badly that she screamed out in panic.

"Relax Miyako-chan; they aren't going to hurt you. In fact, orcas rarely harm people at all" Kaoru gently chastised her.

"Orca; I thought you said you wanted to see the killer whales?" Josh inquired in mild confusion.

"Orcinus Orca is there their genus, but they are more commonly referred to as killer whales due to the many tales and experiences of sailors reporting on the behavior of the creatures. The largest of the dolphin family, they live in pods and hunt in packs much like wolves; in fact they are sometimes referred to as 'wolves of the sea'. Full pods have been reported and seen to attack a full grown blue whale. And while everyone normally views great white sharks as apex predators, even orcas are known to attack and kill them" Kaoru went into broader detail on the creature that was now hovering in the water upside down.

"Rather clown-like behavior when you consider just nani this thing is truly capable of" noted Takaaki as the animal righted itself and soon swam away.

"I'm heading topside if you all want to come with me" Kaoru said as she headed for the stairs that led up to the top of the killer whales' tank.

While peering over the edge into the water to look at the many orcas that were swimming around, one popped its head up and touched its beak to Kaoru's nose and just stayed there causing Kaoru to blush while everyone else began giggling at her.

"Got to watch out for that one; he likes to kiss girls" noted the animal's trainer as she walked up with a bucket of fish.

"I've been kissed by a killer whale" noted Kaoru as she leaned her head down upon her hand as her elbow rested on the railing surrounding the tank.

"And I got it all on film" Kaarii replied with a semi-vicious grin much to Kaoru's horror.

"You're not going to let me live this one down are you?" Kaoru inquired as the whale now swam up and gently touched its beak to her cheek while Kaarii was still filming.

"I think I'm jealous" noted Rikiya gruffly while crossing his arms in mild annoyance.

"Would you like to feed him?" inquired the whale's trainer as she held up a bucket of fish.

Taking out a fish, Kaoru then held it up in the air for the whale to take from her hand, but it just sat there shaking its head 'iie'.

"Maybe it isn't hungry" guessed Miyako innocently.

"Actually, he knows better than to seek food from this side of the tank; come with me" invited the whale's trainer as she led Kaoru over to where the large animal was supposed to be fed. "You'll want to leave your shoes, socks, and jacket here. Ever since an incident involving an orca and the death of a trainer in the U.S., we've had to change some of our policies in regards to working with them."

"I heard about that; are you sure it's safe for me to be in here?" Kaoru inquired as she rolled up her pant legs so they wouldn't get wet.

"I'm sure; this big fellow, like our other three orcas, was born and raised in captivity and has always been worked with by trainers once he was weaned off of his mother. Also, we now have to keep our hair short in order to work with them now and your hair is already short. The orca that killed that one poor woman was believed to just be acting playfully when it kept grabbing hold of her ponytail and pulling her under the water, or thought she had a squid attached to the back of her head and was trying to eat it. But then again, that's just our opinion" explained the whale's trainer just as the large animal swam up and beached itself in the shallow water of the feeding platform.

Kaoru was handed a fish and the whale opened its mouth for her to toss the fish in, but Kaoru gave pause to look at the large, sharp teeth in the whale's mouth in concern. With a little extra encouragement, Kaoru then tossed the fish into the whale's mouth and it quickly swallowed the fish down.

After feeding the large animal and rejoining the group as we were leaving, Kaoru gave pause to look back at the orca which was following them us a rather rapid pace and quickly launched itself up out of the water and splashed back down, drenching Kaoru head to toe.

"That one's going to win me some good extortion points" Kaarii said as we were laughing quite heartily at Kaoru who now stood dripping wet and as she turned to give the whale a dirty look, got kissed on the mouth.

"That tears it, let's go Kaoru-chan" Rikiya said as he took hold of her arm and drug her away to the area where the seals were kept.

We soon moved on to see the many different species of seals, sea lions, and even a few walruses. Next were the pools with manatees and dugongs, all of which led up to the 'Sea-Bird Cage'. Inside we saw many species of gulls, storks, pelicans, puffins, and even multiple species of penguins which Kaarii fawning over them.

I was looking at a brown pelican when Luke came up behind me and told me a silly rhyme about them:

_A funny old bird is the pelican  
>For its beak can hold more than its belly-can.<br>It can hold in its beak  
>Enough food for a week;<br>Though I sure don't know how the Hell-he-can!_

We were all enjoying a good laugh when we then decided to head over to the gift shop. Rikiya bought a plush orca for Kaoru; Luke bought me a plush seal; Ken purchased a plush dolphin for Kuriko; Takaaki bought a plush dugong for Miyako; Kanta bought a plush puffin for Isamu; Pazu bought a plush whale shark for Ami; and, much to her surprise, Josh bought a plush penguin for Kaarii.

"I know you don't have any interest in finding a relationship at this point in time and I accept that, but still, I thought you might like to have this" Josh told her as he passed the penguin over to Kaarii.

Taking it into her hands, she first hugged the toy and then hugged and kissed Josh on the cheek as she expressed to him, "Domo arigato, I was going to buy one with my own money, but I'd accidentally left my wallet back in my room at the hotel."

"Doitashimashite" Josh replied with a smile and we soon boarded the bus to return to the hotel.

Soon after arrival, we headed off to take our baths before turning in for the night, though not without first noticing Kaarii and Josh stopping to share a hug oyasumi before heading off to bed.

* * *

><p><strong>Carly: Does this mean a bond may be beginning to grow between Kaarii and Josh?<strong>

**TCW: Maybe hai, and maybe iie; one never knows with me.**

**Carly: Too true. So nani is in store for the next week?**

**Next time...**

**Momoko: Week 3 is next!**

**Kuriko: Another fight to be had...**

**Miyako: More romance to be enjoyed...**

**Kanta: And of course, forgiveness to be given.**

**TCW: All this and much, much more coming soon!**

**Carly and Momoko: So be sure to leave us some nice reviews in the meantime!**


	33. Week 3

**Thanks again for the great reviews, everyone. Before we begin, I'd like to make a few small notes: **

**First, there is one small, but graphic scene within Kuriko's POV in the chapter but I am marking it with asterisks (*) for those with weak constitutions may decide whether or not to read. **

**Second, there is a small part of the actual play of ****Romeo & Juliet****, modified to fit the situation, given in Josh's POV that I obviously do not own and I will provide you with the website at the end of the chapter in an Author's Note.**

**Third and last, I wish to thank my co-author, cakedecorator, for the assist with parts of this chapter: Domo arigato, Carly-chan.**

**Now, without further ado, here's…**

* * *

><p><strong>Week 3<strong>

Our third week started off well enough as we decided to head off to the amusement park. However, Kaarii was not being her usual upbeat self.

"I don't know about this, guys; I really need to find a present for Chico's visit for when we get home" Kaarii told us in a rather downhearted manner.

"You don't think you might be able to find him one here?" Miyako inquired innocently.

"I guess I could, but I want to get him something really nice instead of some cheap toy" Kaarii told us and we nodded our heads in agreement.

"Tell you nani, Kaarii-chan; if you don't find something here, we'll go shopping for your ototo tomorrow and we'll even help pitch in some of the funds too if you need us to" offered Luke and she smiled up at him before nodding her head in acceptance of this.

As soon as we entered, the one thing that caught everyone's attention the most was this one booth that was announcing that it was offering a complete, rare, collector's set of Powerpuff Girls Z dolls including the all new Powerpuff Boys Z action-figures that also had a complete Powerpuffs Z card game inside.

"That would be perfect for Chico! He's really a major fan of the Powerpuffs Z, especially Bridgette" noted Kaarii to us excitedly as she ran over to get tickets and tokens for the chance to play the game for them.

"Gold box edition too, sugoi; this set would easily run for $750 American" Luke noted to us as he looked at the set.

"$1000 American actually; the included game cards are super rare gold holo-foil cards and they only made 10 of these sets" the booth's operator informed us with a grin. "Five exist here in Japan and the other five were sent to the United States, I got lucky to get my hands on this one; some rich kid bought two of the others."

"And I bet I can guess who _that_ was" Kaoru said with a slightly sarcastic tone in her voice.

"I'm going to sign up for the opportunity to win these for my ototo" Kaarii said confidently as she walked over and picked up the clipboard to sign her name.

"Well, you've got plenty of time to enjoy the rest of the park until 3:00 this afternoon, so have fun in the meantime" the operator said with a smile as we headed off for the roller coaster.

"Uh, I'm suddenly having second thoughts about this" noted Miyako as we stopped to watch the roller coaster running and going into so many loops, twists, curls, and plummets; she was already turning green in the face just watching it.

"I don't know; it looks like a blast to me" noted Kuriko excitedly.

"I tell you nani: you all go on ahead and enjoy the coaster while Miyako and I remain here so as to keep an eye on your belongings" suggested Takaaki as he wrapped his arms around Miyako's waist comfortingly.

Passing them our purses and wallets, the rest of us took off for the line to wait our turn on the roller coaster…not one of my better moments. When we stepped off the ride, I ran over to the nearest trash can, ripped the lid off, and cast it aside as I threw up some four times while Luke rubbed my back and spoke sweetly into my ear. When I finished, Kaoru took me to the bathroom to get cleaned up while Luke left to get me something for my sick stomach.

"Hey, Kuriko-chan, why don't we go check out the haunted funhouse while Momoko's recuperating?" Ken suggested to her excitedly.

"Daijobu, but only as long as you promise not to laugh at me if I get scared in there" replied Kuriko nervously; she was one for action and adventure, but she did _not_ like horror. The last time she saw a horror movie with one of her friends, she suffered such a bad dream that Mom had to sleep in bed with her.

"I promise, besides, why would I laugh at you?" Ken told her as they ran over to enter the funhouse together.

Luke soon returned with a small bottle of ginger ale and a couple of ginger snaps for me and I gladly partook of them, though I also watched anxiously to see how Kuriko was going to handle the haunted funhouse.

Kuriko's POV

The moving objects and noises in the place were rather unnerving enough, and the floors strange movements were _not_ helping things any further, *****but the final straw was when a decapitated body rose up out of the ground with its head in hand and laughing maliciously, I could iie longer hold it in as I screamed out in complete terror.

Burying my face into nani I thought was Ken's arm, I soon heard an evil laugh come from the individual and looked up so see Frankenstein-isha activating his monster which turned and glared at me and I screamed out again before running for the next room. In there were many dismembered bodies hanging upside down and blood draining out of them which made me gag and when I turned around to face away, there was some kind of evil phantasm with red, glowing eyes and holding a beating heart in its hand, freshly torn from its victim's chest, and it suddenly turned to look directly at me as it began laughing viciously.

I was on the verge of screaming out again when Ken approached and took hold of my hand as he said, "There you are; I was getting worried about you."

"Get me out of here!" I whined to Ken with tears in my eyes.

"Relax, there are only two more rooms to go" he reassured me with a light chuckle.

We entered the next room together and many apparitions began to rise up in front of us and one of them was that of a skeleton with tattered clothes and only one eye as it cackled at us and I was about ready to faint. Ken then led me to the final room, where we were met by Dracula glaring at us with blood dripping from his teeth from his latest victim when he pointed first at me before indicating that I come to him.* Panicking, I looked and sprinted for the exit door and plowed right into an employee of the park, dressed as an elderly, deranged butler, as I vacated into the bright sunlight. I fell to my knees and began gasping for air when Ken soon came out of the funhouse…laughing.

I turned and glared back at Ken as he came up beside me while still laughing as he asked of me, "Are you daijobu, Kuriko-chan?"

"Iie, I am not daijobu! You promised not to laugh at me for being scared half to death and yet here you are laughing your head off! If you're going to be breaking small but important promises like this one then you and I are through!" I shouted in his face as tears poured down my cheeks and I turned to run away from him.

However, due to the many tears in my eyes, I didn't see the concession supply jeep coming and crossed right into its path. I heard many people scream and the jeep's horn blaring, but when I looked up, I knew there was iie way I could get out of the way in time.

Suddenly someone threw themselves into me and caused us to both fall back out of the way of the jeep's path and when I looked up, I saw Ken holding onto me with tears in his own eyes as he hugged me tightly. Many people came over to help us up and to see if we were daijobu and all I could do was to stand there in complete confusion while Ken looked at me with mild hurt in his eyes.

"I wasn't laughing at you, Kuriko-chan" he finally said after a few minutes.

"Eh?" I asked of him in uncertainty.

"I was laughing because of how fake everything in that place looked to me, but if I had known that it would turn out like this, I'd have gouged myself in the leg with the heel of my shoe" he explained while rubbing tears from his eyes.

I broke out sobbing as I dropped to my knees before him as I said, "Sumimasen, but I thought you'd broke your promise to me so that I felt nothing but hurt."

"And do you think that turning around and running off so that you almost got hit by another car wasn't going to hurt me any? Kuso, Kuriko-chan, I almost lost you again!" he replied firmly while also crying heavily.

"Sumimasen, forgive my foolishness" I pleaded of him, though deep down I knew he had every reason to reject me.

"Only as long as you promise not to do something like this again and that next time you allow me time to explain myself" he replied as he reached out to me and pulled me into a tight hug.

Momoko's POV

Luke and I soon came running up after hearing of the near-miss and approached to find Ken and Kuriko hugging and holding onto each other while heavily crying into each other's shoulder.

"Hey, you two, we're all heading for the giant Ferris wheel; why don't you come with us?" Luke suggested once the two of them were able to stop crying.

Nodding their heads in silence, the two of them decided to join us, though since the cars could only fit two people inside, we decided to pair up with Ken and Kuriko getting one of their own. However, since Kaarii was uncomfortable riding with Josh, it was decided that she and I would share one together while Luke rode with Josh…not exactly nani I would call romantic, but it helped us all to relax.

When we stepped off, Kuriko and Ken had obviously made up since she bore a fresh hickey on her neck, and we all giggled at the sight of it. That was when the announcement was made that the contest to win the ultimate prize was to take place in just two hours.

"Well, we'd better be getting something to eat or Kaarii and I won't have the energy for the competition" Josh suggested to the rest of us, only for Kaarii to turn and look up at him in disbelief of nani he had just said.

While we sat at a table together enjoying corn dogs and hamburgers, Kaarii suddenly stood up and said firmly to Josh, "Just because we're on the same team don't think I'm going to go easy on you, Josh-kun. I really want that collector's set for my ototo and I am not going to give it up without a fight."

"I know and I wouldn't expect anything less than your very best from you" Josh replied with a smile to her, but she turned around to look away from him with a firm, "Humph."

"I just hope that the other players are as good sported about it as you two" Luke said in all seriousness and I nodded my head in agreement.

Once we finished with lunch, we all returned to the booth where the competition was to take place while the booth operator began checking over the equipment one final time and making any and all necessary adjustments to the gaming equipment.

"Ah, I see the ten challengers are already present and accounted for" the booth operator said with a cheerful smile when he turned around to see everyone gathered together and waiting. "Daijobu, in a moment we'll get you all suited up for the competition, but first the basics and some ground-rules. Each of you will be wearing one of these target devices on your chest as well as having a laser gun in your hand. Your goal is to take out as many of your opponents before they can take you out. To do this, all you have to do is to aim for the target on your opponent's chest, pull the trigger, and an invisible laser beam should make contact with the target. If the target you are wearing flashes red, it means you've been hit and are out of the game, at which point you are to head for the nearest exit where you will be given a consolation prize.

"The rules are pretty simple, but we'll start with the one most important rule: Do NOT, I repeat, do NOT point the laser gun at your opponents' faces as they can cause injury to the eyes. Second rule is that once your target starts flashing to kindly remove yourself from the game and do not continue shooting any further. Third rule, as with any game, is IIE cheating; if you get caught cheating you will be disqualified. Also, I will have some trained spotters up on the overhead beams watching to make sure you abide by the rules so don't even think of trying to cheat or you will be permanently banned from playing this game again. Daijobu, let's get you all suited up!"

A video camera was set up for us to watch the events from a set of bleachers while the spotters took to their stations on the overhead beams. Once Kaarii, Josh, and the others were all suited up and their laser guns passed out, each player was given one minute to reach a designated hiding place while their opponents weren't allowed to look so as to keep the element of surprise on their side.

As soon as the starting whistle blew, three players were quickly disqualified as they had tried tampering with their targets, one by spreading dirt across the target's face, another by trying to turn their target off, and the third one had completely removed their target to set it up on a decoy, and were thus eliminated.

Kaarii and Josh quickly took out two more players, with Josh leaping and dodging while Kaarii performed like a gymnast to avoid getting hit and both finishing up by blasting those who were trying to shoot them. Kaarii and Josh turned to face one another before jumping clear to hide though Kaarii did turn around to try and shoot Josh, but his back was to her so she didn't bother.

Kaarii soon found the only other girl in the game and quickly noticed she was using a makeup mirror to shoot at her opponents from hiding and so Kaarii carefully aimed her laser so that the beam bounced off of the girl's mirror and struck her in the target upon her chest. She then hatefully turned to face Kaarii and, even though she was out, pulled the trigger to try and take out Kaarii but she was already gone and in hiding. The one girl was then dismissed.

It was soon down to three players: Josh, Kaarii, and another boy. Kaarii and Josh were circling the arena cautiously when Kaarii came upon the one boy who quickly karate-kicked the gun out of her hand and shot her in the chest while she was grasping her wrist in pain. He then grinned down at her tauntingly when he heard Josh whistle. Turning around to see who it was, the boy saw Josh aiming his laser and before he could react, Josh pulled the trigger and took the boy out.

At that the finishing whistle blew and all headed for the exit though Kaarii was obviously tearing up. Given their consolation prizes, all turned around to watch and listen as the grand prize was issued to Josh amidst a round of applause while he and the booth operator shook hands.

Kaarii began to walk away when Josh quickly called out to her, "Kaarii-chan; wait!"

Turning around to face him angrily, she asked of him, "Nani is it Josh; did you come to gloat and show me the prize I was trying to win for my ototo?"

"Eh; iie, I wanted to give this to you" he told her as he placed the box in her arms.

"Nani, I don't understand" she said, now quiet, in confusion.

"That was the whole reason I joined the competition: to help you win the grand prize for your ototo" Josh told her as he reached up to brush away a few stray tears from her eyes.

"Domo arigato, you don't know nani this means to me" Kaarii said with a sniff as she lowered the box to hold it by its handle less any tears fall upon it and thus ruin its value.

Josh's POV

Looking down into that sweet, smiling face, I soon found myself enamored with her to the point of daydreaming:

_~Begins Daydream~_

I now stood at the base of a balcony with Kaarii standing above me and as I peered up at her angelic beauty, I found myself saying:

"_But, soft! Nani light through yonder window breaks?  
>It is the east, and Kaarii-chan is the sun.<br>Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon,  
>Who is already sick and pale with grief,<br>That thou her maid art far more fair than she:  
>Be not her maid, since she is envious;<br>Her vestal livery is but sick and green  
>And none but fools do wear it; cast it off.<br>It is my lady, O, it is my love!  
>Oh that she knew she were!<br>She speaks yet she says nothing: nani of that?  
>Her eye discourses; I will answer it.<br>I am too bold, 'tis not to me she speaks;  
>Two of the fairest stars in all the heaven,<br>Having some business, do entreat her eyes  
>To twinkle in their spheres till they return.<br>Nani if her eyes were there, they in her head?  
>The brightness of her cheek would shame those stars,<br>As daylight doth a lamp; her eyes in heaven  
>Would through the airy region stream so bright<br>That birds would sing and think it were not night.  
>See, how she leans her cheek upon her hand!<br>O, that I were a glove upon that hand,  
>That I might touch that cheek!<em>"

To which my Kaarii-chan replied, "_Ay me!_"

Her encouragement stirs me on, "_She speaks:  
>O, speak again, bright angel! for thou art<br>As glorious to this night, being o'er my head  
>As is a winged messenger of heaven<br>Unto the white-upturned wondering eyes  
>Of mortals that fall back to gaze on him<br>When he bestrides the lazy-pacing clouds  
>And sails upon the bosom of the air.<em>"

"_Josh-chan, Josh-chan_, how much more do think this set would be worth if we were to get the Powerpuffs Z to sign it" Kaarii started to reply, but her voice suddenly changed to that of Kuriko.

_~Ends Daydream like shattering glass~_

I awoke from my daydream when Kuriko's voice cut in like a screeching brake and I now stood looking down at her while also feeling downhearted.

"Say that's a great idea, Kuriko-chan! But we'll need some kind of proof that it was really the Powerpuffs Z who signed it and not just a bunch of other people" Kaarii replied excitedly.

"I guess it beats getting stabbed in the back by a Croagunk using Poison Jab" I mumbled with a sad sigh while sweat-dropping as I remember how many times Brock from Pokémon was interrupted in a similar manner.

"Well, we'll figure all that out later. The park is due to close soon" Momoko informed all of us.

"Aw, but we've only seen half the park!" Kuriko protested almost sadly.

"I know, but we can come back tomorrow" Luke piped up as he began to lead the lot of us back to the hotel for the night.

Momoko's POV

We awoke early the next morning to return to the amusement park so as to enjoy the other half of it. Our first stop was called the 'Moon Buggies' but was really a bunch of very vintage American-looking cars set up on a driving track, so I kind of got my first driving lesson on it…with Luke's help of course.

Our next stop was the bumper cars where once again I got to take the wheel, though Luke told me, "Just remember: this is the only time where it is permissible to run into other drivers."

I giggled at that and pressed my foot to the pedal so as to plow right into the car Kaoru was driving only to receive a dirty look from Rikiya as he was sitting in the passenger seat.

Next we enjoyed the tea cup ride, though Kanta and Pazu had their tea cup spinning so fast that by the time the ride was over, they couldn't walk straight and poor Isamu and Ami had to run to the restroom to hurl. Kaarii and I met them at the door with ginger ale and ginger snaps while Luke read both Kanta and Pazu the riot act.

Of course, when we finally managed to catch up with Kuriko and Ken, Luke and I both wound up giving them a firm lecture as they had been hiding in a broken down ride, making out, and Kuriko was completely topless.

"Well it's not like I was going to let him go near 'there'" Kuriko steamed back at me after getting her shirt put back on.

"Hai and you'll be lucky if you can sit down should I decide to tell mom and dad nani you two were doing, honestly!" I fussed at her.

"Oh it's not like you and oniichan haven't done anything like that or worse while you were living with him back in the States" Kuriko returned with a stamp of her foot; she had since taken to referring to Luke as 'oniichan' as he was to become her giri no oniichan once he and I graduated college.

"Fine, you've got me there; we'll just keep this between the four of us" I said with a sigh. She was right about me and Luke after all.

Meanwhile, Kaarii had separated from the group to go check out a small dark tent over which hung a sign that read, 'Aura Reader', and went to check it out.

Kaarii's POV

I cautiously entered the dark place and quietly called out, "Konnichiwa is anyone here?"

"Of course, come inside and I shall read your aura for you" spoke up an elderly woman as she lit two candles that were sitting on each side of the small round table she was sitting behind.

"I've never done this before" I confessed rather uncertainly.

She was silent for a few minutes when she finally spoke up, "Ah, I am seeing your aura now: You are quick, nimble, and powerful when pushed to it; you also possess wisdom and guile all of which indicates the aura of the rabbit. However, there is a dark cloud hanging over you…an unhappy experience from the past involving…a misplaced love and trust in a fiendish devil. You need to find one whom you can properly place trust and love in so as to gain balance. I see you in need of one with the aura of an ox, but while he is standing in front of you, you are too timid and this makes you blind to him. You must further seek wisdom from one who has the power of the sun flowing through him as well as the strength of the golden dragon within him so as to clear your vision, child, or you will never find peace."

I sat there looking at her with fear radiating in my eyes as I knew she was right.

"Kaarii-chan, are you in here?" I heard Luke's voice call to me and I turned to smile up at him in appreciation for his timing as I used this as my opportunity to escape.

"Konnichiwa, dragon kami of the sun" the woman said to Luke as she bowed her head to him.

"I am iie kami and I don't exactly appreciate being referred to as such, but as I can sense goodwill within you, I shall dismiss this mistitling in good humor" Luke replied to her with a polite bow that had me wondering.

We then turned and left together in silence, though I was contemplating the woman's words when I instantly recalled nani she had referred to Luke as. I then decided that I would speak further with him on the issue later tonight.

We were sitting at a table together, eating lunch, when Josh soon joined us as he asked, "Hey, Luke-kun, nani do you think it would mean if you were referred to as having the aura of an ox but being too shy to express your true feelings to one who is blind to you?"

"I have iie clue, why?" Luke asked of him.

"Because that's nani the aura reader just told me and now I'm completely confused. To make matters worse is she told me to seek a person with the power of the sun and the strength of the dragon in order to have my path cleared to this blind one. It makes iie sense to me" Josh further complained and I began to sweat as I picked up a couple of napkins to start fanning myself.

"Are you daijobu, Kaarii-chan?" Miyako inquired of me in concern.

"I feel hot" I complained as I lost consciousness.

_~Enters Dream Phase~_

I was running wildly through a field when I came upon a stream and peered into it to see a pink rabbit looking back at me and muttered, 'Great, I've been turned into a rabbit.'

I then took off running again as I saw a red devilish creature in pursuit of me when a blurred yellow form collided into the creature. Try as I might to see the one who took out the devil, I couldn't see it clearly when the devil rose back up and began to fight with the other creature.

A blast of energy crashed down upon the devil and I looked up to see a great golden dragon descending from the sun to stand over me and I bowed to the dragon humbly as it smiled down upon me.

_~Exits Dream Phase~_

"Come on, Kaarii-chan, wake up; you're daijobu now" I heard a familiar voice saying to me as I woke up and found myself staring up into Luke's eyes while my head was resting upon Momoko's lap.

"Nani happened?" I asked of them as Takaaki helped me to stand up.

"I'm not too sure, but one minute you were sitting with us and the next you fell out of your seat unconscious" Kaoru answered gently.

"I say we call it a day and return to the hotel so that Kaarii-chan can get some rest" Josh suggested concernedly.

"May as well, we've already done everything else" Kuriko said as she turned away from the next building as though with a firm resolve to avoid it at all cost.

"Don't you want to go back through the haunted funhouse, Kuriko-chan?" asked Kanta teasingly.

"Hey leave her alone!" Ken shot back heatedly as he stepped forward so as to stand up to Kanta.

"Take it easy; I was only teasing" Kanta said while holding his hands up in surrender.

"Well it's not funny" Ken said firmly as he walked over and embraced Kuriko reassuringly.

Momoko's POV

"Daijobu, enough is enough. We've still four more weeks to live with each other and I for one would like to spend them in a rather peaceful manner" Luke said in a placating manner that brought all of us back to our senses.

"Besides, next week we're going to the giant water park and we still need to purchase some water-proof suntan lotion as we're almost out" I added and we all agreed to call it a day.

When we arrived back at the hotel, we all signed Chico's present as the Powerpuffs Z while in front of the hotel's staff who were really excited to have the actual Powerpuffs Z in their establishment.

Taki-san even took a photo of Blade presenting the box to Kaarii once we had all finished signing it for proof of authenticity.

While enjoying our dinner, Kaarii asked of Luke, "Can we talk in privacy after dinner, Luke-sempai?"

"Of course, as long as it is daijobu with you, Momoko-chan" Luke started to reply before making sure I was comfortable with it.

"Sure, I know I can trust you and Kaarii-chan" I replied with a warm smile.

Later on, as per Kaarii's request, they went for a walk along the beach to talk together privately when she explained everything to him.

"So you see, I think you are the golden sun-dragon that she was referring to, although you wear black as Blade" she told him with a giggle.

"I guess it's possible, but I think there's more involved when you stop to consider that dream you had" he informed her lightly.

"I suppose, but I can't help but wonder who the other creatures were and nani that blurred animal was" she said to him in mild confusion.

"I think I know, but I'm not going to say for sure as of yet; there are some things in life that we must patiently wait for and I think the answer to your puzzle will be provided sometime in the none-too-distant future. You just have to have some patience, Kaarii-chan" he informed her as they returned inside the hotel.

"You're right, Luke-sempai; oyasumi to tanoshii yume" Kaarii told him with a kiss on the cheek before vacating up to her room.

At that, Luke turned around and approached me, kissing me long, hard, and passionately on the lips before we decided to ascend the stairs to return to our rooms so as to turn in for the night.

We spent the last few days of the week shopping at the local mall for gifts for our families awaiting our return home from our vacation as well as for supplies for our day at the water park next week.

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><p><strong>Carly: Now that was a rather fun chapter.<strong>

**TCW: Domo arigato!**

**Carly: And I kind of already have an idea as to nani is in store for the next one, but I'll ask anyways.**

**Next time…**

**Momoko: Week 4 is underway!**

**Luke: But first, a day at the laundry mat.**

**Kaoru: Never borrow a friend's bikini unless you're absolutely certain they wear the same size as you…how humiliating.**

**Miyako: We also get to see just how powerful Rikiya can be when he's protecting Kaoru!**

**TCW: This and still a whole lot more coming soon!**

**Carly and Momoko: Just be sure to leave us some nice reviews while you patiently wait!**

**Author's Note: The poem is taken from Romeo & Juliet, courtesy of **Shakespeare.m i t.e d u** where you will find the complete works of William Shakespeare. Sorry, but they don't allow the sharing of websites on Fanfiction unless it applies specifically to them.**


	34. Week 4

**Many thanks to my reviewers as you provide me with the encouragement to continue writing Things get a little bit suggestive in this next chapter, but I assure you all, it has been kept quite clean. Now, for some fun in the sun with our friends as they begin…**

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><p><strong>Week 4<strong>

Monday morning and we were gathering up our dirty clothes to head over to the local laundry mat since the hotel didn't have a public laundry room.

"Does anybody have a clue on how to use these things?" Kaoru inquired as she stared at the machine standing in front of her.

"Hai, I do, but you need to sort your clothes first" Rikiya informed her as the rest of us were already putting whites separate from colors.

"Your best bet is to do everything on a gentle cycle with cold water, that way the colors won't run" I shared with her as I was already putting mine and Kuriko's clothes into one of the washing machines.

"Right, just be sure to check your labels for anything marked 'dry clean only'" Kaarii added helpfully while loading the machine she was about to use.

Miyako carried four of her vests over to the counter marked for 'dry cleaning' and dropped them off with the woman behind the counter while receiving a ticket for her to use to pick them up before leaving.

Kuriko had been complaining of her back hurting, so Luke took her to the gymnasium next door so as to use their massage table.

Meanwhile, the rest of the boys played a round pool while waiting for their machines while Kaoru and Ken played a video game. Miyako was reading the latest copy of her favorite fashion magazine while both Kaarii and I read our favorite manga-tachi.

Soon the washers stopped and we all began to take our clothes out of them to take them to the dryers when Kaoru was heard to exclaim, "Oh iie, now nani am I going to do for a bathing suit tomorrow!"

We all stepped over to see a tattered mess in Kaoru's hands and we all took on sympathetic looks as Kaarii inquired, "Nani happened to your swimsuit?"

"I'm not sure, I did everything the instructions told me, but it still tore" Kaoru informed us as she held up the three pieces it had been ripped into.

"Didn't you bring a backup one?" Miyako inquired of her.

"Hai but I wouldn't wear that one in public for all the tea in China" Kaoru replied with a sigh and I couldn't help but giggle.

"And I'd put you over my knee if you did" Rikiya added with an annoyed tone in his voice.

"I have an extra one, but I think it might just be a little big for you" I offered helpfully.

"At this point, I'll take nani I can get; I can't afford a new one" Kaoru said with a sigh as she threw her ripped suit into the trash.

Luke returned, carrying Kuriko as she was asleep in his arms, he passed her over to me so as to tend his own laundry when he noticed Kaoru's torn bathing suit in the trash and so inquired, "Nani happened to your suit, Kaoru-chan?"

"It got ripped in the wash" she replied somewhat sadly.

"I've got an extra one that she can use tomorrow" I told him as I placed the last of his clothes into the dryer for him, having set Kuriko down on a padded bench to finish her nap.

"And you are doing my laundry because…" he asked of me in curiosity.

"Well, I figured to get a little experience for the future" I replied as I kissed him on the lips.

"Daijobu then, I won't argue. Meanwhile, if you like, we can go shopping for a new bathing suit for you when we finish up, Kaoru-chan" Luke offered kindly.

"Arigato, but I can't afford a new one. Besides, Momoko said I can use her spare one, so that should work" she returned with a smile as she sat down to wait for the dryer she was using to finish.

"That's really decent of you, Momoko-chan. But are you sure that's a good idea? You are a little bigger…up there…than she is" Luke inquired with a bit of concern.

"Well, Kaarii and I are the two closest in size to her as Miyako is a bit larger while the others are a bit smaller" I replied and even Luke nodded his head in agreement.

When we returned to the hotel that afternoon, Kaoru tried on mine and Kaarii's bikinis to see which one would fit her better. In the end, Kaoru required the bottoms from Kaarii's and the top from mine, but even then it was a hair loose on her, fortunately the colors went well together so there was little concern there.

"Gomen nasai, Utonium-san, but a letter has been forwarded to you here" Taki-san said as she politely walked up and placed the letter into Luke's hands.

"Domo arigato" Luke expressed appreciatively.

"Who's it from?" Ami asked excitedly.

"It's from the Professor back in home" he replied as he opened the envelope and carefully extracted the letter and a tooth.

"The letter I get, but nani is the deal with the tooth?" Isamu asked in confusion when Luke began chuckling.

"It's Bell's tooth; she said she wanted me to have her first tooth instead of letting it go to some strange fairy. Nani is more is that she wrote it in Nihon-go" Luke replied with a bright smile. "Uh-oh, she's being badgered about getting her hair cut and she's fighting it so much that the Professor wants me to call and talk her into it."

"Are you going to do it?" "You aren't going to, are you?" Ami and I asked simultaneously.

"I know nani to do" he replied as he pulled out his cell phone and began dialing the number.

Townsville (the Professor's POV)

"And I'm telling you that you need a haircut, young lady; you tripped three times at school yesterday and you almost tripped in the bathtub last night" I said trying to reason with Bell, not an easy thing to do when she was holding her tanto in a threatening manner.

"Iie, watashi wa ikutsu ka no nikuya ga watashi no kami o furenai you ni surutsumori wanai!" she shouted back at me in Japanese.

"Bell, speak English" I told her firmly as I placed my hands upon my hips in mild anger.

"I said, 'No, I am not going to let some butcher touch my hair'" she replied to me with tears in her eyes.

"Look, I know you're afraid of the barber, but your long hair is getting to be a safety hazard for you" Bonbon said calmly to her sister.

"We also know that you like to speak Japanese, but the rest of us don't understand it. You need to learn when to speak English and when to speak Japanese" added Bloom in reasoning, but neither of her sisters' words was helping.

Just then the phone rang and so I turned away to answer it while Bell took the opportunity to start sneaking off to her room.

"Bell, it's for you" I then told her with a smile.

"Moshi-moshi…Oniichan!" she exclaimed excitedly and I sat down nearby to see how their conversation would play out.

"Ohayo, Bell-chan; I just got a letter in the mail today saying that you're fighting getting you hair cut" Luke told her gently.

"Hai" she replied now with a slightly miffed tone in her voice.

"Do you know I love you?" he asked of her to get her smile back into her voice.

"Hai" she replied with a giggle as she blushed.

"You know, your late shimai, Blossom, hated getting her hair cut too, but when it kept getting in her way and was causing her to be injured, she had to face a serious dilemma: get her hair cut or give up crime fighting. You want to know nani she did to resolve her issue?" he explained and inquired of her.

"Hai, nani" she inquired uncertainly.

"She first came to talk to me about it. I told her that she doesn't have to get it all cut, but that a light trimming to get it up out of the way was all that she needed to be able to get back into the swing of things. So she swallowed down her fear and went to this one salon where this very nice Nihon-go family works and requested her hair to be trimmed. When she came out of there, she was so happy and excited that when she got home, she literally threw herself into my arms in appreciation for the advice. And I think you would just as well benefit from it too; think you can do it?" Luke told her encouragingly.

"Daijobu" she replied with a sigh but I knew it bore promise.

"That's my girl" he said encouragingly.

"When are we going to see you again?" she then asked of him in English.

"I'm not too sure, but depending on our schedules, I'm hoping by next Christmas" he replied.

"Okay, I miss you" she said somewhat sadly.

"I miss you and your shimai-tachi too. Can I speak with the Professor again?" he asked of her. and she returned the phone to me.

"Hai, sayonara, Oniichan" Bell then said with a sniff as I could see the tears brimming in her eyes as she returned the phone to me before turning to dash up to her room.

"Arigato for speaking with her, Luke" I expressed to him, using one of the few Japanese words that I knew.

"You're welcome, oh and here's the address for the salon I referred Bell to…" he replied and I took down the information.

"Got it; arigato again for helping out and give my best to Momoko and your sisters" I told him with a smile.

"I will, sayonara, Professor" he told me and soon we ended our conversation.

I sent a glance up the stairs towards Bell's room and soon followed after her to place the address of the salon upon her desk; she was quietly crying into her pillow, though whether from having agreed to get her hair cut or because she had to say goodbye to Luke again, I would never know.

The next morning, however, she kept her promise and flew off for the salon on her own and boldly walked up to the counter to talk to the woman behind the counter who smiled down at her in understanding. When Bell was done and she was returning home, she was joyfully skipping about as she was no longer tripping over her long hair which still hung down to just above her ankles.

Hotel Pearl Piari (Momoko's POV)

I watched as Luke hung up the phone in amazement until I noticed Luke reach up and wipe a few tears from his eyes and I remembered that he had to leave part of his family behind to seek happiness with me.

"I think Christmas sounds like it would be a wonderful time to visit with your family once again" I said to him as I walked up and wrapped my arms around him from behind.

"Well, it'll depend on how our school schedules, but we can try" he told me when he turned around to hug me in return.

The next day we all headed over to the water park where we separated for the different changing areas. While slipping into our bikinis, I noticed Kaoru trying to figure out how to adjust the size on the top she was borrowing from me.

"Is this already at the smallest size it can go, Momoko-chan?" she asked of me.

"Hai, I'm afraid it is" I told her when Kaarii walked up behind Kaoru.

"Here, let's try this" Kaarii told her as she tried to wind the ties in the back to fit tighter and it seemed to work, though for how long we had yet to find out.

"Domo arigato, Kaarii-chan, that does feel better" Kaoru replied in appreciation as we all grabbed up our towels and headed for the pool.

Luke and the other boys were already waiting for us when we walked up and all gestured for us to take the lounges they were sitting on so as to apply sunscreen to our skin. However, I noticed Luke kept sending concerned looks in Kaoru's direction while he was applying sunscreen to my back.

"Nani is wrong?" I asked of him quietly.

"That's a dry knot in Kaoru's top; it could easily come undone if she's not careful" Luke told me and I quickly got the idea of why he was concerned about it.

"Maybe you should talk to her and Rikiya about it" I offered and he nodded his head in agreement, but it was already too late as both of them took off to play in the pool.

"Wait a second, Kaoru-chan" Luke called after her but she was already diving into the pool with Rikiya close behind her.

"Nani is the problem, Luke-kun?" inquired Kaarii and Miyako as they walked over to us and I explained the situation for him.

"Ooh, I hadn't thought of that" Kaarii noted while we watched both Kaoru surface with Rikiya right underneath her so that she was sitting upon his shoulders.

"Maybe your fear is all for naught, Luke-sempai" offered Miyako while watching the two as they called for us to come join them in a game of push-over.

"Hai, well I'm not about to let a challenge like that go; nani about you, Luke-chan?" I asked, now feeling playful myself.

"Sure, why not" he replied while smiling at me and we took off to jump into the pool.

I soon surfaced right in front of Rikiya with Luke quickly coming up underneath me so that I was now sitting upon his shoulders. The two of them stepped forward close enough so that Kaoru and I could grab a hold of each other's hands and when both boys counted to 3, we began pushing against each other in an attempt to knock the other couple over into the water. Kaoru and I must have struggled for about five minutes when she managed to give me one good thrust and I fell back off of Luke's shoulders while both Kaoru and Rikiya chuckled at the two of us.

"You just got lucky, that's all!" I said to Kaoru one I resurfaced and Luke was hugging me.

"Un, whatever; I'm heading for the diving boards" Kaoru replied as she slid off of Rikiya's shoulders and into the water with Rikiya following after her.

Rikiya raced over to the low diving boards and expected to see Kaoru coming around the corner to meet him when he began searching for her.

"Hey, don't tell me you're too cowardly not to try for the high-dive?" she asked of him teasingly from up above him and we all turned to look up at her as she prepared to dive.

She bounced three times and then went high into the air, twisted and twirled around and ended in a perfect dive as she entered the water that had almost everyone applauding…until she surfaced and climbed up out of the pool and stretched her arms up over her head while proudly walking towards us.

"Gomen nasai, but I think this belongs to you" Ken told her while holding up her bikini top, having found it floating towards him from the diving side of the pool, and clamping his eyes shut so as not to look.

"Nani are you talking about?" Kaoru inquired until she noticed every guy, save for our guys who were averting their gaze, was now staring at her lustfully.

Looking down at her chest, Kaoru quickly bound her arms around herself, turned a very bright shade of red and screamed quite loudly.

"She's mine!" "Iie, she's mine!" "I saw her first, so she's mine!" shouted many boys as they began to run towards her. However, when one guy grabbed a hold of her arm and reached for her the rest of her bathing suit, a bolt of lightning shot out of nowhere and struck the guy in the chest and sending flying back into the pool.

"_Nobody touches my Kaoru-chan save me_!" threatened a terrifying voice, though with a slight Scottish accent, and we all turned to see Rikiya, now as Highland Blast, with his claymore unsheathed and his eyes were glowing a fierce red.

We all began involuntarily backing away from Kaoru when we saw Blast starting to walk towards us as he picked up a towel and wrapped it around Kaoru for dignity's sake.

"Ante up, Kaarii-chan" I then heard Miyako say as she held her hand out to Kaarii from her sun lounge.

"Daijobu, daijobu, daijobu, you won the bet, but my wallet is in my locker right now, so you'll just have to collect from me later" Kaarii replied sassily.

"That wasn't the deal and you know it" Miyako told her with a smile.

"Would you settle for a foot massage?" Kaarii asked of her.

"Look, kissing Josh on the cheek isn't going to kill you; you may even enjoy it" Miyako replied honestly.

"But I haven't received my inoculations yet this year" Kaarii whined while trying to get out of her part of the bet. "Besides, you haven't even told me how you knew that Luke was going to be right in the first place."

"Simple: as with you, your hunches are always dead-on, as though they're more like premonitions that you have while you're awake. With Luke, though, it's almost instinct, like he can see nani is going to happen well enough before it does happen" Miyako explained honestly.

"I think we'd better check out early and go shopping for a new bathing suit for Kaoru" suggested Kanta while passing Isamu a small cup of iced tea.

"Aw, do we have to?" whined Ami as she was sitting on the edge of the pool, her feet dangling in the water, and Pazu sitting just behind her and massaging her shoulders.

"We'll come back tomorrow and then we can enjoy the water slides and such" Luke told her with a smile and we all came to an agreement to return the next day.

However, while getting dried off and changed, we noticed Miyako scratching a small spot on her arm where some of the pool water had splashed onto her and it was turning red.

"Stop scratching, Miyako-chan, or you're bound to get it infected" Kaarii instructed her.

"You'd better go wash her arm off with some soap and warm water" Ami cautioned and both Kaarii and Miyako left for the oteari.

"You really are sensitive to chlorine" Kaarii noted to her while helping Miyako to wash her arm.

"Hai; oh and I'm letting you off the hook in regard to our bet as long as you agree to help Kaoru find an appropriate bathing suit" Miyako informed her and Kaarii smiled appreciatively.

When we finally exited the changing room, we met up with the boys who were all sending Miyako a questioning look as they saw the bandage wrapped around her arm.

"So you have a sensitivity to chlorine, eh? If I'd known that sooner, I'd have suggested some other place for us to enjoy" Luke told her with a half-smile before transforming into Blade and using his Healing Hand to repair the damage done to the skin on her arm.

"Why don't you boys escort Miyako back to the hotel while the rest of us girls go shopping for a new bathing suit for Kaoru" offered Kaarii and the majority of them nodded in agreement.

"I'm not letting my Kaoru-chan out of my sight" Rikiya replied firmly.

"And I wouldn't feel comfortable letting my four girls run off without a bodyguard" Luke added causing me, Kuriko, Isamu, and Ami to blush at him.

"Oh, and Kaarii-chan, a word onegai" Rikiya told her as he wish to speak with her quietly.

After a few minutes in which we were watching the two of them talking, Kaarii soon said, "Got it; I'll take care of everything" and soon both of them rejoined the group.

A little later, at the mall, Luke and Rikiya stood near the entrance while we girls entered to help Kaoru in finding a new bathing suit, with Kaarii and Kaoru heading for the bikini selections.

"I don't know; are you sure you wouldn't rather have a one-piece for wearing to the water park? I think we'd both feel better about it if you did" Kaarii inquired a bit concernedly.

"Hai, I'm sure and…wait, nani do you mean by 'we'?" asked Kaoru in confusion.

"Both myself and Rikiya-kun; he asked me to help you in finding a bathing suit that was rather modest" Kaarii answered while pulling out a light green one-piece and quickly put it back when she realized it was made from a sheer material and virtually transparent.

"Well, I do want something modest, but I also want it a little showy to keep Rikiya's eyes on me" Kaoru replied as she pulled out a bikini that proved to be a thong and so quickly returned it to the rack. "Not _that_ showy, though."

"Good point; embarrassing enough to wear one of those in public, but quite another when your backside gets sunburned" Kaarii noted in agreement as she pulled out another bathing suit, that matched nani Kaoru was looking for, but in the wrong color.

"Remember, Kaarii-chan: you're the one who likes pink, not me" Kaoru noted as she pulled out three more but in the colors she liked.

"Want to go try them on?" Kaarii asked with a bit of uncertainty towards one of the colors Kaoru had chosen. "Why would you wish to raise Rikiya's ire with a flesh-colored bikini?"

"Do you think he'd be mad if I wore it?" Kaoru asked as she stepped out of the changing booth to check herself over in the mirror while wearing the green bikini.

"Hai, I really think he would. How's the overall feel?" Kaarii replied while checking to make sure the fit was correct.

"Hmm, nice and snug without being tight, and the material is so light, I barely feel like I'm wearing it" Kaoru replied with a grin to her image in the mirror. "But I think the yellow one has a slightly showier top."

"Hai, though the yellow is about as close to flesh-color you may wish to dare wearing; too many other people may think you're…indecent if you were to wear the one that is flesh-colored" Kaarii shared honestly when Kaoru stepped back out of the changing booth to model the other suit she'd chosen.

"Un, you have a point there. I think I like this one a bit more anyways, but I'm not too sure about the optional sheer skirt that comes with it" Kaoru told her and I soon noticed that she'd placed the skirt on backwards.

"Try turning it around, Kaoru-chan" I offered while holding a new red bikini in my arms.

"She's right; you've got it on backwards" Kaarii noted in agreement with a light giggle.

Kaoru quickly turned the skirt around and was now wearing it properly so that even she liked it, but still inquired of us, "Do you think Rikiya will like it?"

"I think he's going to just love it, though it's still more daring than anything I would wear" Kaarii replied honestly.

"That's because you're not looking to attract a certain boy while Kaoru and I are" I replied honestly as I stepped out of another changing booth to model myself in the bathing suit I was considering purchasing.

"Nani do you think of this one, Oneechan?" asked Kuriko as she stepped out wearing a two piece that the top fell to just an inch above her navel.

"Now see, that's nani I think of when I say a modest, but showy bathing suit" noted Kaarii while sending Kuriko two thumbs up to show her approval.

"That's because she wants Ken to play with that part of her anatomy since she's ultra-sensitive there" I told Kaarii and causing Kuriko's cheeks to turn bright red as she crossed her arms in indignation.

"I'm not going to let him touch me at the pool, Oneechan" she said quite firmly.

"I know and I'm only teasing you, Kuriko-chan" I confessed to her as I kissed her on the forehead.

"Well, shall we change, buy these things, catch back up with the boys, and head back to the hotel, or are we going to hang out here until the store closes?" Kaoru inquired of us after changing back into her street clothes; Rikiya had given her some money to buy her new swimming suit.

However, when we returned to the water park the next day, there was a sign hanging up at the main gate saying that it had been closed for cleaning and repairs, so we all had to begrudgingly return to the hotel where we instead enjoyed the beach. We even found Takaaki and Miyako sitting in a tidal pool together while they were making out, though being sure to keep things clean.

A short time later, and I was proven right about Kuriko and Ken as they sat in another tidal pool together with Ken playing with her navel. Luke and I decided to firmly caution them on behaving themselves while walking past them on a leisurely stroll along the beach.

Kaarii, Isamu, and Ami were engaged in a game of beach volleyball against Josh, Kanta, and Pazu with the girls winning.

Kaoru and Rikiya were surfing and once again, Rikiya kept wiping out as he couldn't keep his eyes off of Kaoru in her new bikini long enough to pay attention to nani he was doing.

Later that afternoon and after getting cleaned up, we found both Kaoru and Rikiya crashed out on the couch together and, once again, Ken and Kuriko were mysteriously missing. One of the staff members of the hotel informed me and Luke that they were sitting outside together on the pier and looking through a telescope together. We went so see nani they were looking at or for when I noticed Ken was sitting behind Kuriko while he had his hands inside her shirt. I then loudly cleared my throat and both of them turned around to look at me in surprise.

"Honestly, you two, you are just going to have to wait until you're engaged for doing that sort of thing anymore" I informed them with a sigh as I understood nani they were feeling, but also having the understanding of responsibility.

"I'm afraid that Momoko is correct; even we have to constantly remind ourselves that we can't 'enjoy' one another until we're married" Luke informed them while being sympathetic towards their feelings.

"I was only rubbing her stomach" Ken confessed honestly.

"Daijobu, but I tell you nani: you two make sure that we're around to supervise and we'll let you cleanly play together" I offered since I wanted to keep Kuriko happy.

"Deal" the both said in agreement and we then separated to head off to bed.

I dreamed of the day I'd be married to Luke and Kuriko dreamed of the day she's be married to Ken, and we could all truly enjoy each other's company.

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><p><strong>Carly: You were right, this did get a little suggestive, but as you promised, you kept things clean.<strong>

**TCW: Of course, I have a rating to maintain and I also know that if the material is questionable, you can't enjoy the chapters as much.**

**Carly: True, so nani is in store for the next chapter?**

**Next time…**

**Kuriko: Week 5 gets underway!**

**Momoko: We are going to further pursue one of our original plans!**

**Miyako: Meanwhile, Taka-chan and I are going to go whale watching again!**

**Ami: But nani happens when something that looks nice and friendly turns out to be deadly?**

**TCW: All this and much, much more, coming soon!**

**Carly and Momoko: Meanwhile, be sure to leave us some nice reviews, onegai!**


	35. Week 5

**Domo arigato for the great reviews, everyone, and I'm very happy to hear that some people are now utilizing my profile page to help them to understand the Nihon-go (Japanese) words contained within this story as well as many of my other ones. Now to get this story back underway, I now present you all with…**

**Week 5**

On a whim, and at Miyako's suggestion, we decided to reinitiate one of our original plans to go tourist diving at the local reef. Miyako and Takaaki said that they wanted go whale watching again anyways, so we all agreed to allow them this one small opportunity to split off from the group.

We all excitedly boarded the boat and we were soon underway while the diving instructor explained to us how the re-breathers worked and how they would also allow us to communicate verbally while underwater. Next followed a general listing of the types of marine life we had the chance of encountering with some marked as potentially dangerous; among these were listed moray eels, white-tipped reef sharks, sand sharks, sting rays, jelly fish, and even great white and bull sharks.

"Onegai note that if in the event of your being injured, report to the rest of us immediately and then return to the boat as quickly, but safely as possible. Blood can entice many shark species to engage in a feeding frenzy and returning to the surface too quickly can cause you to suffer the bends" noted our instructor to us in all seriousness. "Also, do not touch anything that you are not sure about as sometimes the nicest of things can also prove to be the most lethal. Case in point, this is the shell of a cone snail. Though the creature that was inside of it is long since gone, this creature also produces one of the most lethal toxins in the animal kingdom."

Miyako's POV

Taka-chan and I were excitedly racing towards the tour boat that would take us whale watching when we gave pause to notice a few of the trainers from the local aquarium walking by and talking amongst themselves, "I don't know nani is wrong with him."

"He didn't start acting up until after that one girl visited, as though they were kindred spirits and he doesn't want to be apart from her or something" noted the one trainer I recognized as being the one that had accompanies Kaoru in feeding the killer whale.

The third one gave pause when her cell phone began ringing and when she answered it, exclaimed, "He's where? Daijobu, we're on our way! Come on, girls, we've got to hustle; it sounds like our boy has found a way into the intake tanks!"

The trio then took off running for the aquarium just as Taka-chan and I were summoned to board the tour boat.

"It almost sounds like one of their 'residents' is trying to escape" Takaaki murmured into my ear and I giggled.

Taking up a place at the rail while riding out to meet the whales, Takaaki and I decided to enjoy the scenery when we both noticed, as we passed by the aquarium, a killer whale jumped out of the fresh sea water intake filtration tank and into the sea.

"Did that whale look familiar to you?" I asked of Takaaki and he quietly nodded his head as we watched the large animal swim up to the boat and actually jumped up out of the water high enough to stare both of us in the eye before continuing on its way away from the ship.

"I've never seen an orca do that before; are you two daijobu?" asked one of the whale spotters as they approached us.

"Hai, and that killer whale just escaped from the aquarium" I replied to the gentleman and he turned to look back to the aquarium where some of the staff members were standing and scratching their heads in confusion. "Taka-chan, do you think it could be trying to find Kaoru?"

"At this point, I'm willing to believe just about anything" Takaaki replied as he tightened his grip of me as he had his arms around my waist.

Momoko's POV

After checking to make sure all of our equipment was working properly, we were all directed to sit on the bulkhead of the boat and to topple over backwards into the water as this was supposed to be one of the safest ways to enter the water. Once we were underwater, we were led some 80 feet down to the ocean floor.

"Is everyone here?" I then heard a voice say through my ear-piece.

I nodded my head, not exactly an easy thing to do underwater, when I heard Luke, who was standing beside me chuckle as he said, "You can verbally confirm his question, Momoko-chan."

"Gomen nasai, I'm just not used to this kind of thing" I apologized as I turned to face Luke.

"It's amazing how clear it is down here" I then heard Kaarii note from the other side of me.

"Look sharp; we've got company" Kaoru then said as she indicated a white-tipped reef shark resting on the bottom of the ocean floor not too far away, though it didn't seem to be acting aggressively in any way.

"It's alright as long as we give it some space; reef sharks are more typically night hunters and tend to rest on the ocean floor during the day time" noted our instructor to us.

"I thought sharks died if they stopped swimming" queried Kuriko from in front of me.

"Only a few species are really like that as many can actually rest upon and even sleep on the sea floor" replied Ken from Kuriko's right.

Just then a sting ray rose up out of the sand, swam a fair distance away, and resettled to the ocean floor where it began to bury itself in the sand again.

"Nani pretty plants, sugoi!" exclaimed Ami as she was looking at nani appeared to be underwater flowers.

"Actually, that's an anemone, and, like jelly fish, they have stinging tentacles which they use to protect themselves from predators" noted our guide to us with a smile in his voice.

"So why does that one seem to be moving around?" inquired Isamu as she noticed an anemone that was moving around.

"That's nani is known as a decorator crab. They often times uproot anemone from their places on the reef and attach them to their shells so as to protect themselves from being attacked by octopuses" our guide informed us as we watched an octopus suddenly swim over and envelop the crab and anemone in its tentacles but just as quickly released the animals to swim away after being stung by the anemone.

"Now that's nani I call teamwork" noted Kaarii in praise of them.

Soon a rather large, snake-like creature swam out of a tiny crevice and opened its mouth in a threatening manner that startled me as it kept looking at me while opening and closing its mouth at me.

Luke swam over and the creature retreated back into its crevice as he helped me to stand back up as we were informed, "Don't worry, morays don't normally attack people unless provoked as they much rather posture a threat."

"Hold up everyone, nani kind of shark is that?" inquired Kanta while indicating a rather large shark that was swimming overhead.

"It's daijobu, just remain calm and don't threaten it" our guide informed us as we watched the creature swim away into the darkness. "To answer your question, that was a bull shark, probably just cruising the reef in search of food. But they very rarely attack unless provoked, smell blood, or detect an injured creature."

"I've also heard that they also go after flashy jewelry" noted Kaarii to our guide.

"Mostly because it resembles an injured fish" our guide added before leading us on to our next destination.

We were soon led to the site of an ancient shipwreck from back during the Edo-era as our guide explained, "This was a merchant ship that used to carry many kinds of goods from rice to silk cloth to even gold and silver. This particular site is preserved and maintained by the local historical department and the more valuable items have already been removed before their original containers were returned."

As we were approaching another giant moray eel shot out its hole to snag a fish, but instead grabbed a hold of Ami's arm as she screamed out in pain. The eel then began to thrash around until it managed to rip a small section of her flesh off before swimming away as we swam over to check up on her.

"Nani happened, why did that moray just up and attack her like that?" Kaarii inquired anxiously.

"Talk later, get to the surface now!" instructed out guide as he indicated the sharks in the area starting to act restless.

We slowly, but steadily rose up from the bottom of the ocean to a mid-point when our guide instructed us to surround Ami and to keep an eye out for predators as we had to allow ourselves to adjust before continuing on to the surface or we would all succumb to the bends. We were soon being circled by an arrangement of sharks, all of which cleared out of the way when a group of great whites began to show up.

"I don't feel so good" Ami complained.

"That makes two of us" I added in trepidation while watching one of the large sharks swim past me.

"Whoa" we heard Isamu exclaim as one of the sharks swam up and took hold of her right swim fin before releasing it to turn and swim away.

Just then another shark swam up and took hold of Kaoru's swim fin and began to drag her away from the rest of us. She kicked both of her fins off and swam back down to the ocean floor in hopes of escaping the large creature but soon found herself surrounded being circled by the same shark as it was certain that it had caused her injury though she wasn't bleeding.

"We've got to save her!" Rikiya shouted but was stopped as we indicated the other sharks in the area that were trying to get to Ami.

"Get Ami to the surface; if we can, we'll come back for Kaoru" Luke instructed though I could hear the tears in his voice.

We rose up to the surface and were quickly aided in getting Ami out of the water first and a few of the crew immediately began to give her some first aid while the rest of us were helped out of the water and away from the jaws of the other sharks; one of them even tried to take a grab of my leg, but I was pulled away from its grasp just in time.

Kaoru's POV

I had heard Luke's order and knew that he was right: they had to save those they could. I now hovered in the water and watched as this one shark kept circling me, though I refused to take my eyes off of it, knowing full well just nani those jaws were capable of. It suddenly turned as though to look away and I braced for nani was coming next.

The shark turned in and charged forward towards me and I made ready to try and deflect the shark away when something in the water released an angry screech. A killer whale appeared out of nowhere and slammed its head into the shark, momentarily paralyzing the creature and knocking it onto its back when the whale grabbed a hold of the shark in its jaws and held it upside down.

Many other sharks began to gather around when the orca opened its jaws again, but this time bit into the shark until it could rip out the shark's liver and released the corpse to fall to the ocean floor while the whale ate down the liver before turning to me and swam up underneath me to guide me to the surface.

When I surfaced and cast off my mask to gasp for breath, many hands reached down to pull me aboard the boat while I heard many of the crew exclaiming, "I've heard of it happening, but I've never seen it before!"

I peeked back over the edge of the boat to look down into the water in hopes of seeing the orca that had rescued me one more time when, of all things, the whale poked its head and put its beak against my lips, and hovering there as I felt my cheeks warming.

Another boat, this one much larger than the one we were on, soon approached as many people began to laugh and click photos of this whale that was kissing me.

"Looks like your boyfriend escaped from the aquarium to save you" I heard Miyako call to me while giggling.

I looked back down into the eye of the whale and soon realized that she was right: this was the same whale. Then, much to the surprise of the many spectators, myself, and to Rikiya's horror, I reached down and kissed the orca on its head in return.

Of all the ones who kept looking at me with relief in their eyes on our return trip to the shore, Luke was the only one who refused to meet my gaze and it concerned me. I then motioned to Kuriko to exchange places with me, as she was sitting beside him, and when I sat down beside me, he seemed to shrink away.

"Talk to me, oniichan" I asked of him in concern; he may not be my actual brother, but amongst my teammates, he was the closest to a brother as I could get.

"Gomen nasai, I abandoned you to the jaws of that shark and you'd be dead now if not for that orca" Luke replied with tears in his eyes as he pointed to the whale that was swimming alongside the boat.

"You did nani you had to in order to save Ami and the others" I told him as I excused him.

"But I don't leave teammates behind" he insisted as though refusing the forgiveness I was granting him.

"And if you had been able to transform underwater, you would have been able to keep that promise, but you couldn't. That shark had one of my swim fins and probably thought it had succeeded in ripping a tail flipper off of a seal or something; it thought I was one of its usual sources of food" I told him while kneeling down to check up on Ami who was asleep and had a bandage wrapped around her injury, fortunately it proved to be only a superficial wound. "If only that stupid fish hadn't been swimming beside Ami's arm, then that eel wouldn't have struck her and none of this would have happened."

"I don't know about that; I mean your killer whale friend did escape from the aquarium to come, find, and protect you. Maybe it detected the danger we were all in and wanted to keep the sharks away" offered Kaarii helpfully.

"That reminds me: Nani are we going to do about him?" inquired Momoko while indicating the orca that was following us.

"I guess we try to find a way to return him to the aquarium" I replied and the captain nodded his head in comprehension as he turned the boat towards the aquarium.

Momoko's POV

When we pulled up to the aquarium, the staff members responsible for taking care of the killer whales just gave Kaoru dirty looks while occasionally glaring at the large animal that was playing beside the boat.

"In all of my years, I've never seen such peculiar behavior from an orca, but since he's made his decision. He's your responsibility now, young lady" the aquarium's chief of administration said in finality.

"Can you at least take care of him until I can make arrangements to have him transferred to the marine aquarium in Tokyo?" Kaoru inquired almost pleadingly.

"Iie, he's your problem now" the administrator said firmly before indicating to the orcas' caretakers to follow him inside.

"Well can you at least help us with building a holding pen for it until we leave?" Rikiya asked in anger but they ignored us. "All of this over a stupid fish" he then grumbled and Kaoru slapped him.

"He's not a fish; he a mammal! And nani is more is the fact that he saved my life! I'd think you could at least show him a little more appreciation for that" Kaoru returned angrily and with tears in her eyes.

"Daijobu, let's try and calm down, everyone. We'll return to the hotel and I'll see if I can call in a few favors to help us get Kaoru's friend transferred to Tokyo" Luke offered helpfully and Kaoru turned to smile up at him while wiping the tears from her eyes.

Upon our return to the hotel, Kaoru ran off from the group to sit out on the dock, dangling her feet in the water while the orca played with them until she was smiling and laughing again.

"Here, I thought you'd like one of your bathing suits to play with your friend" I told her as Luke and I approached, Luke was talking to a few people on his cell phone.

I listened in on his conversation while Kaoru changed behind me, "Yeah…no, they don't want it back…Because they told us so. Sure, I know it's a tricky move, but it's for the sake of a really good friend and her whale…I know it's really a dolphin. Right, see you guys tomorrow morning and thanks for the assist."

"Was that the aquarium?" Kaoru asked of Luke anxiously.

"Iie, I've already spoken with the Tokyo aquarium and they're quite eager to have a killer whale to add to their already massive facilities. The person I was just speaking with runs Sea World back in America and where they have some specialized equipment that they're sending over to help out with the move" Luke informed her with a gentle smile.

"I still don't understand why those baka-tachi at the other aquarium refused to take him back" I offered while sitting on the dock and hanging my own feet in the water.

"Because they're afraid that he may now carry some kind of bacteria that could easily transfer to the other orcas" Luke replied with a sigh and even I had to try to see things their way.

"Not to mention the simple fact that he did manage to kill a great white shark so they may be concerned about his attacking one of his companions in the tank" suggested Kaoru, though it was hard to think of the animal she was with as being a killer since it was now upside down in the water and having its belly rubbed.

"Permission to come aboard to apologize?" asked Rikiya from the shore end of the dock and Kaoru nodded her head silently to him. "You know, we never did learn this guy's name, so maybe we should come up with one for him…as a team" Rikiya then suggested.

"As a…couple?" asked Kaoru and Rikiya nodded his head in agreement.

"I couldn't have said it better myself" Luke said with a smile to our friends.

While sitting out on the dock, Kaoru now dressed and both of them wearing light jackets as the cool night air was starting to settle in off the open ocean, she and Rikiya sat together discussing a name for Kaoru's killer whale.

"I know Shamu is a popular name for killer whales in the U.S." noted Rikiya after a few minutes of silent thought.

"Hai, but it's too common a name for that reason. I was thinking about Akihiro; it means bright and large" Kaoru offered as she watched the orca dip down under the water to moisten itself before resurfacing.

"It sounds just perfect to me" Rikiya replied as he snuggled Kaoru up against him.

"Are you two coming inside or are you going to sleep out here tonight?" asked Luke as he, Taki-san, and I were walking up towards them with blankets, pillows, and a hammock in our arms.

Taki then began to set up a special hammock for the two to share, hooking each of the four corners' rings onto hooks that were embedded into the wood of the dock's covered portico. She then took the thicker of the blankets and set it down first before inclining to the two to settle down upon the hammock.

"I've never been good at sleeping in hammocks" Rikiya noted with uncertainty.

"That's because when you only use two hooks, it tends to tilt too easily. This one utilizes four hooks so that it still allows you to rock a bit, but there's iie danger of falling out, especially since you're so close to the water" Taki explained as she set down the two pillows that I had been carrying.

Kaoru stood up, sat down upon the hammock and kicked her shoes off before moving over to the water-side section of the hammock. Rikiya soon followed suit and the two were soon snuggling up together while Luke draped a light quilt over them.

"Oyasumi to amai yume" Taki and Luke then bid the two of them before turning and departing to return inside, but not before releasing the light curtains to drape down so as to provide them with a little bit of privacy.

Early the following morning, we were all awakened to the sound of rather large machinery being brought in, including the beating of the giant rotors of a twin rotor helicopter.

"Oh my, it looks like the U.S. army has just landed on the beach!" Miyako exclaimed as we gazed outside of the large glass doors that made up the back of the hotel.

"Get dressed, everyone; we have guests" called Taki-san to her staff.

A little later, we all sat around the main room while discussing how the proceeding events were going to work, "So which of you is Kaoru?"

"I am" Kaoru replied hesitantly, feeling a bit of trepidation.

"Daijobu, you're going to want to slip into a bathing suit as we need you in the water to keep your orca calm. Any signs of his experiencing distress about being moved and you will have to let us know so that we can stop to let him relax. But first, my associate will explain how we're going to work the move" the gentleman in charge informed her.

"So what we're planning is simple, but can also be dangerous if not all precautions are taken. First we're going to use the crane to lift the orca from water while in a sling and then to slowly set him down in a prepared holding tank that will then be loaded into our helicopter to be flown to the selected aquarium in Tokyo where they are already getting ready for our arrival. So whenever you all are ready, we'll get underway" the man said with an accent that was so thick that we had to have Kaarii and Luke explain to the rest of us just nani the man had said.

Kaoru was soon dismissed to pack her things and to change into a bathing suit. As she exited her room, she noticed that even Rikiya had packed his things and was getting ready to leave with her; they were cutting their vacation short.

"I thought you could use some assistance with Akihiro" Rikiya explained, though hiding the fact that he didn't feel comfortable with so many men being around his girl.

The two pilots and a few of the other men took their belongings and packed them onto the helicopter while Kaoru and Rikiya ran out onto the dock and dove into the water. They resurfaced and swam up beside Akihiro though only Kaoru would place her hands upon him.

"Take it easy, big guy; they're friends who are helping me to bring you home to Tokyo" Kaoru said reassuringly when Akihiro sensed a couple of strange divers in the water and dragging a large tarp up underneath him.

Two of the divers exited out onto the shore while another climbed up onto the dock as their companion passed the last rope over to Kaoru.

"Make sure his fins fit through the openings in the side comfortably" explained a marine biologist to Kaoru after she had hooked the four lines to the massive hook of the crane.

"I'll do my best, but he's getting fidgety" Kaoru replied feeling a little nervous herself.

"We're going to do this as quickly as possible, but only as long as you say it's safe; you're in charge of telling me his reactions so I can tell the crane operator to wait and hold or to continue" the man explained as the sling was raised up and starting the lift Akihiro up out of the water.

"Hold it; I need to check the fit of his fins" Kaoru then called out and the man signaled hold to the crane operator. "How's it look, Rikiya?"

"He's got about three inches to the front and another three inches to the rear; he's good" Rikiya signaled as Kaoru made ready to escape from the sling. However, when she started to step out, Akihiro began getting anxious.

"You'd best remain in the sling to help keep him calm" the director instructed her and Kaoru nodded her head in agreement despite the concerned look on her face.

Akihiro began making some noises and I heard Kaoru reply, "I know how you feel. Just hold still and be a good boy; this will be over in a few minutes."

"It's daijobu, Kaoru-chan, we're right here with you" Blade said as he and Baron flew up beside them to help her to feel calmer and thus so would Akihiro.

"We're over the portable holding tank now and they're about to lower you two into the water" Baron then informed her and soon Akihiro could feel the water touching his fins so that he started getting excited.

"Easy, we're not quite in the water yet" Kaoru then informed Akihiro and he settled back down as he was lowered into the water, while the rest of us guided the sling so as to make sure neither of them were banged against the edges.

"Daijobu, go ahead and unlatch the cables from the hook and attach them to the corners of the holding tank" Kaoru was instructed and she instantly began to remove the loops from the hook, passing them on to us so as to attach them to the tank as per instructions.

"Everyone wishing to say 'sayonara' should do so now as you won't be able to approach the tank once it's in motion to load it onto the helicopter.

Despite how wet we got, we all threw in as many hugs as we could to while also petting Akihiro and wishing him luck in his new home. We then stepped back and the tank was loaded onto the helicopter; it just cleared the door so that Kaoru had to dive under the water until they were finished loading. Soon the doors closed and we all waved as the large aircraft started its engines and was soon lifting off into the air to begin its journey to Tokyo.

"Well, there they go" I heard Miyako say with mixed feelings in her voice.

"Hai, but I told Kaoru and Rikiya to call me once they were home" Luke told us and we all headed back into the hotel to get some rest after the day's excitement.

We were all sitting up in the main room of the hotel, in our pajamas or nightgowns, waiting to hear from Kaoru when Luke's phone finally began ringing.

"Moshi-moshi; just a moment and I'll put you on speaker" Luke said as he pressed a button on his phone so that we all could hear.

"Just calling to let you all know that we're home and the move was completely successful, though I've got a mild case of hypothermia from being in the water, but I'll be able to take a hot shower in just a few minutes" Kaoru said though there was a strange sound in the background.

"Where are you and nani is that hissing sound?" Kuriko asked out of curiosity.

"Rikiya and I are still at the aquarium to help Akihiro settle into his new environment. The motors you're hearing is the massive filtration unit and the hissing is one of the aerators" Kaoru explained when we heard a muffled voice in the background. "I'm going to let you guys talk with Rikiya now; I'm heading for a hot shower."

"Hey, guys, how goes it?" Rikiya then inquired of us.

"We're talking with you to make sure the move went off without a hitch" Kaarii told him rather sassily.

"Gomen nasai for making you guys wait, but Kaoru wanted to make completely sure that Akihiro experienced iie complications during the move so we had to wait for the juui to arrive so as to give him the once over and to take a couple blood samples" Rikiya replied before telling us about one incident. "Now during the flight there was one moment where Akihiro got a bit excited and accidentally rammed Kaoru, but she's insisting that she's daijobu; I'd still like for her to see an isha to make sure he didn't crack any of her ribs or anything like that."

"Makes sense to me. You tell her when she gets out of the shower, that's she's going to see the isha tomorrow or I'm going to come back there and take her myself" Luke then said in a mildly firm manner.

"Iie worries there; I've already called her mom and she's currently on her way here with Kaoru's isha to give her the once over" Rikiya informed us with a yawn.

"Daijobu, we'll let you go now; I've got a few sleepy-heads to take care of myself" Luke informed him and they soon hung up.

Fortunately, the next morning Kaoru called us up once again and informed us that she was only mildly bruised and now had a job at the aquarium taking care of Akihiro.

"Well, it sounds like a happy ending after all; Kaoru's able to play with Akihiro while getting paid for it and Akihiro gets to keep his girl" Kaarii said with a bright smile and we all shared in a good heartfelt laugh.

Later that night, we all noticed a strange halo around the moon and even Taki-san began to look nervous as we all headed off to bed.

**Carly: Well, that was a rather fun chapter.**

**TCW: Semi-educational too.**

**Carly: Right! So nani is in store for the next chapter?**

**Next time…**

**Momoko: Week 6 comes roaring in like a lion.**

**Kaarii: I don't think I ever want to have to go through another storm like that again!**

**Luke: Now we're helping to clean up and to find survivors.**

**TCW: All this and more coming soon!**

**Carly: Meanwhile, be sure to leave us some nice reviews!**


	36. Week 6

**Arigato for the many great reviews, my friends; and now let us join our heroes as they are about to endure their hardest week yet…**

* * *

><p><strong>Week 6<strong>

When we awoke the next morning, we all noticed that the sky was unusually dark, the winds were high, and the surf was breaking on the beach almost angrily. We all ran down to the main room where we found Taki-san watching the weather report and, flashed across the screen, was a broadcast that a typhoon was heading our way.

"…a category 10 typhoon. There have been reports of waves cresting 50 feet or better, cyclones, and even water spouts seen within the storm…" the weather reporter was announcing when Taki-san shut off the television.

"Get the windows boarded up" she then instructed her staff with deep concern in her voice before turning to us. "Gomen nasai, but it looks like you're going to have to vacate to one of the shelters and the sooner, the better."

"Not if we can stop it" Kaarii said confidently.

"Fight a typhoon; are you nuts?" asked Isamu in disbelief.

"It's plausible" noted Kaarii as she really wanted to help protect the hotel as well as the city.

"Hai, but you could get killed trying to fight the weather" Ken noted with deep concern in his face while holding onto Kuriko who looked terrified of the encroaching storm.

We then heard a heavy amount of traffic passing by the hotel and we all looked out the windows to see a mass amount of people trying to get to the shelters.

"That storm will soon be upon us and these people need time to get to the shelters; we can try to hold the storm and waves off until they can get there and then we'll seek the shelters ourselves" Luke said in finality.

"Ken, take Kuriko and follow Taki-san to a shelter" I then instructed him as I kissed Kuriko on the cheek, though I had this deep dread that this would be the last time I would ever get to kiss her.

Running outside, we transformed and each took up a stance to prepare to meet the storm head on. We could see a water spout just off shore and heading straight for the hotel.

"Looks like a cyclone is heading this way" noted Berry nervously.

"Iie, that's a water spout. Like a cyclone, but is filled with water instead of dirt, though it may still contain a heavy amount of debris within, but being that they are so much heavier, they can't shift direction very well" Bridgette explained while glaring at the massive column of water heading our way.

"Solar Flare" we heard Blade call out as he released a large amount of solar energy from his hands into the weather anomaly, and watched as it quickly lost its structure to dissipate back into the air.

"You'd better save your solar energy for bigger things, Oniichan. Without sunlight, you can quickly become powerless and we may need your Healing Hand ability later on" noted Bridgette to him and Blade nodded his head in agreement.

"I'm not going to be of much good to you guys" I soon realized as I remembered that my attacks were physical and not elemental like so many of the others.

"She's right; unless we have elemental attacks, we're useless" added Berry as she, also, had iie elemental attacks.

"Then go handle crowd control and make sure that iie one is injured by debris or anything" Barrage called over her shoulder to the rest of us as she combined her nunchucks together to form a staff.

"Too bad Rikiya and Kaoru left so early, we could really use their help right about now" noted Baron aloud.

"Wait, if we deflect this storm off, won't it continue on up the coast?" Butch then inquired with a look of trepidation on his face.

"And thus straight for…home" Bubbles said in realization now with a look of concern on her own face.

"Which is why we're not deflecting it, but just making sure to hold it back long enough for the people to make it to the shelters" Bash replied as he began to shoot a blast of energy from his paddle into the shoreline so as to create a trench for the water to fill before it could reach the hotel.

"Uh-oh; cyclone at six o'clock!" called Bash as he was continuing to deepen the trench he was creating.

"Sword-Slash Cyclone" Bridgette then called out as she spun herself into a reversed-direction cyclone while charging up her katana-tachi with energy and soon collided into the other cyclone and thus causing it to dissipate.

Meanwhile, due to the heavy straight-line winds, a group of trees snapped and began to fall onto the crowd when Berry charged up her ball with energy so that it turned pink and, when she spiked it into the trees, it exploded in a gob of pink goo which caused the trees to get stuck in an upright position.

The large sign of a building snapped its bolts and began to plummet upon yet another group of people when Bubbles used her Bubble Boing attack to deflect it away to land harmlessly off to the side.

Soon a glass building shattered and both Bubbles and Berry called out, "Gooey Bubble" "Bubble Gum Ball" as they once again used their sticky attacks to catch the glass shards, though I still managed to get a bad cut across my left arm from when the glass first exploded.

The finial of an old church blew off and began to fall toward where a small child was sitting upon the ground, having tripped, and I called out, "Spinning Yo-yo" to ensnare the finial and thus pulled it back and away from the kid. However, the strain was causing my injury to open a bit more and blood was not beginning to dribble down my arm and I could feel myself on the verge of fainting.

Bubbles' POV

I looked over towards Blossom and noticed the blood running down her arm as well as the fact that she seemed to be holding her head in her other hand while she was turning pale. Flying up beside her to help hold her up, I saw the deep cut and knew that she needed medical attention as soon as possible.

"That's everyone, Bubbles-chan" Berry soon announced as she flew up beside me and also took notice of Blossom's injury.

"We need to get her to a first aid station" I told Berry in concern.

"You're right; I know a little first aid, but this is worse than anything I can handle at this point in time" Berry replied over the storm.

Blade quickly flew over to us along with the rest of the team and took Blossom into his arms while telling us, "Let's get to safety; I'll take care of Blossom once we're there!"

Nodding our heads in agreement, we soon entered the shelter where Taki-san, Ken, and Kuriko were nestled down within. Once we were granted a table to lay Blossom down upon, Blade and Berry immediately got to work on trying to repair the damage done to Blossom.

"It's a good thing that she's already unconscious or we'd need everyone here to hold her down when you irrigate her wound" I heard Berry announce as she passed Blade a bottle of rubbing alcohol.

"Tweezers" Blade requested of Berry who passed him the tweezers he had requested while repeating, "Tweezers."

Carefully removing a few small bits of glass from Blossom's arm, he then summoned many of the boys over.

"Guys, I need you all to help hold her down in the event she awakens from the pain" Blade explained as Bash and Butch each took hold of her legs, Baron held down her shoulders, Boomer held down her good arm, and Ken had to lay upon her abdomen to hold the rest of her down. Barrage had to hold the forearm of her injured arm to keep her from moving it.

"Alright, here we go" Blade announced and I had to turn to look away as he poured the alcohol upon her wound.

Blossom woke up screaming and instantly began to struggle against the pain. Poor Butch got kneed in the personals before Blossom lost consciousness once again.

"Are you daijobu, Butch-chan?" Barrage asked of him quietly.

"Do I bloody well look daijobu?" Butch grumbled sourly in reply while holding onto himself, deeply breathing, and Barrage had to turn away to keep from laughing.

"Healing Hand" Blade then said as he took hold of Blossom's shoulder and began to channel energy into her so as to heal the wound.

"Hey, things have quieted down outside. Do you think the storm has passed?" asked Boomer and we all walked outside to look up.

"Iie, we're in the eye of the storm and the rest of it doesn't exactly look friendly" Blade noted to us while holding Blossom in his arms as she was still asleep.

"Blade, is that nani I think it is?" Bridgette inquired in a panicked tone of voice as she turned and noticed an E/F-5 cyclone heading straight for the typhoon shelters.

"Quick, we need to give our energies over to Blade" Blossom said, though shivering from the shock her system took from having her injury irrigated.

"You don't have all that much energy to spend, Blossom-chan" I noted to her, though I knew she could sense the fear I was emanating.

"I can give nani little I've got" Blossom replied as she held up her yo-yo and formed a small orb of energy which she then passed over to me before falling asleep in Blade's arms.

"Nani is she talking about and why did she just give you her energy, Bubbles-chan?" inquired Berry concernedly.

"Iie, time to explain, just watch and do as I do" I said with a new sense of determination as I channeled energy into the orb before passing it over to Baron.

Baron then added some of his own energy before taking Blossom from Blade as the energy orb was passed around until it was finally passed over to Blade.

"I'm not exactly sure why, but I understand now" Blade then told us as he absorbed the energy into his body and flew up into the eye of the typhoon and, gathering the energies together along with drawing some from the storm itself, crossed his arms across his chest and called out, "Super Nova Finish" as he released all of the energy from his body to explode outward into the storm.

We all looked away as the intense light from Blade's attack was too much for us to bear. When the light dissipated, we all looked up to notice that the storm had been cleared out and, still whirling around in a circle up in the air, were two orbs of white light which soon plummeted down towards us.

Ken's POV

I saw one of the orbs heading for Taki-san and so leapt up in the way, taking in the energy as I called out, "Tempestuous Brain!"

Amidst a brown background covered with tan storm clouds and in a quick dance-like performance, my slacks were replaced with brown jeans, my shirt was tan, a brown leather vest appeared with a couple quick snaps of his fingers, brown boots replaced my black loafers as I made a windmill-kick, and, with a double power-punch, black leather finger-less gloves appeared on my hands. After the transformation I stood there with a wise expression on my face, legs spread apart, and had one finger placed against my temple.

Kuriko's POV

I looked up to notice one of the orbs heading straight for a small girl and jumped up in the way, taking in the energy as I called out, "Blazing Bullet!"

Amidst an orange background covered with yellow butterflies and in a dance-like performance, my clothes were replaced with an orange leotard, a couple of quick snaps of my fingers and a yellow vest appeared upon me, a quick twirl and an orange micro-skirt formed around my waist, with a quick slash at my throat, I formed a black choker around my neck. My shoes were replaced with orange sneakers as I kicked my heels up, and, with a double power-punch, black fingerless gloves appeared on my hands. After my transformation, I ended with my fists on my hips, legs spread apart, and a determined smile on my face.

Bubbles' POV

When their transformations ended, I stood there staring down at them in surprise while Bridgette fainted beside me, though I think it was more from fear and exhaustion brought on by the storm and our fighting it but Bash was able to catch her before she could fall upon the ground.

Blade soon touched down nearby and looked on at Bullet and Brain in mild surprise but, releasing a sigh, he said, "Daijobu, given the time and the condition the city is in, we've enough time to find out how many citizens are here and how many are still missing. Mayor-san, if you'll kindly take care of that, I'd be most appreciative. It's a good thing Bridgette's asleep; she'll be devastated when she learns that the collection set she for her ototo has just decreased in value exponentially since there are now two more Powerpuffs Z."

"Maybe that's another reason for her fainting" noted Butch with a light chuckle until he was elbowed in the chest by Barrage.

Soon both Blossom and Bridgette woke up and looked up into the faces of the boys holding them in surprise. Blossom didn't expect to find herself being held by my boyfriend and Bridgette didn't expect to find herself being held at all; both of them blushing deeply.

"You can put me down now, Bash" Bridgette instructed him, though I thought I could hear a note of appreciation in her voice.

"Where's Blade-chan?" Blossom inquired in mild concern as she looked at me concernedly.

"He's resting up after using his Super Nova Finish to lay waste to the storm. But he had to pass you over to Baron so that he could perform the attack since you were asleep" I replied with a warm smile to let her know I wasn't angry or jealous.

"And when both you and Bridgette-chan are up to it, we need to help with cleaning up the storm's damage as well as trying to find survivors; there are some twenty people still missing" Blade noted as he walked up and took Blossom up into his arms, kissed her on the cheek, and soon set her down to stand on her own two feet.

"How are you feeling, oneechan?" inquired a girl wearing an orange Powerpuff Girl Z uniform.

"I'm feeling a little better, Kuriko-chan…Kuriko-chan?" she first replied with a smile and soon exclaimed in surprise before passing out again.

"I think the shock got to her" noted Bridgette with a giggle until she spotted Ken and the laugh quickly gave way to a look of complete surprise as she became aware of just who it was staring back at her.

"Take it easy, Bridgette-chan" Brain told her in a relaxing manner.

"Welcome to the team, though my gift for Chico has now probably lost half of its value" Bridgette said with a sigh as she patted Brain on the head.

"Come on Blossom-chan, wake up" Blade said while gently patting Blossom's cheeks to waken her.

"I know a trick that'll work!" announced Bullet with a giggle. Leaning down she whispered into Blossom's ear, "Well since you're not going to wake up any time soon, I'm going to eat your large chocolate bar."

"You stay away from my…where am I?" Blossom started to say as she awoke and soon inquired as she realized we weren't at home.

"Beats nani I was going to say to waken her" Blade replied and we all chuckled.

"We've got some twenty people to find and a lot of storm damage to clean up, so we'd best get a move on while we still have some daylight to spare" suggested Boomer and we all nodded our heads in agreement.

We split up into two groups and began our first priority: search and rescue. Fortunately, we found those missing, though, sadly enough, a family of four didn't survive as their house had been leveled on top of them. Blade removed the wallet of the father and read his driver's license so as to make his official report.

"Do we bury them, leave them here for the authorities to tend to, or do we take them back with us?" Bridgette inquired while crying heavily.

"Butch, return to the shelter and let the others know nani we've found. The rest of us will remain here until further notice" Blade replied with a sad sigh.

Butch soon returned to us and informed Blade, "We've been instructed to use our own discretion."

"Then let us bury them in the backyard" Blade replied and we used our powers to inter the family's remains.

We then gathered some rather large stones together and used them to place the family's names upon their burial sites before holding a moment of silence to pay our respects to them.

"Come on, there's nothing more we can do here; let's get back to the shelter" Blade soon announced and we all began to fly to the shelter when we paused to notice that the Hotel Pearl Piari was still standing with only minimal damage.

Momoko's POV

Upon our return to the shelter, we informed everyone of the city's condition and all agreed that cleaning up and repairing any and all damage was to be the main priority for the rest of the week.

Early the following morning, most would return to their homes to begin working there while the rest went to their places of employment to start cleaning up. Ken, Kuriko, Kaarii, and Josh got to work on helping with the staff at Hotel Pearl Piari. Luke, Takaaki, Kanta, and Pazu were helping out with some of the bigger jobs, like righting cars and removing large sections of buildings that were blocking access to others.

Isamu and I were hard at work helping to take down plywood from windows so as to provide light to work by since the electricity had been temporarily knocked out to some blocks. Miyako and Ami got to work on helping round up families' pets and getting them returned to their respective families.

Most of the cleanup that could be done was finished by nightfall while the rest of it would have to wait until insurance adjusters could arrive to survey the damage. Many news crews had arrived during the day's events and began interviewing many of the survivors, but whenever they tried to talk to us, we just waved them on while paying little heed to them.

When they got to the mayor, the most he could say was, "We wouldn't be here still of not for the valiant efforts of the Powerpuffs Z; we owe them a debt of gratitude that we may never be able to pay to them. Even now, they're helping us with nani little cleaning up that we can do until the insurance adjusters arrive."

Later that night, as we sat around the dock by the light of tiki torches, many of us girls all released the emotions that were tearing away at us earlier while we were working. Even I shed my share of tears while holding onto Kuriko while Kaarii did the same while holding onto Ken.

"Armstrong-san, are you daijobu?" Taki-san asked as she watched Luke step away towards a fallen tree and stared at it with tension radiating inside of him.

With a roar of frustration and anger, he released his claw-blades and ripped through the tree until it was little more than firewood. I noticed the way Kuriko was now showing fear of him and so excused myself from her to approach him carefully as he had just finished tearing up the felled tree and now sat on the beach crying. I knelt down behind him and wrapped my arms around his chest to hold onto him as he cried quite heavily.

"You were right, Ami-chan; just because a man cries doesn't mean he's any less of a man" noted Pazu as they listened.

"That's right, Luke-chan, let it all out; you of all of us deserve it" I told him comfortingly as I laid my cheek atop his head as I held onto him.

Once everyone was able to get their emotions back under control, we entered the hotel to turn in for the night.

"Nani did you mean when you told Luke-kun that, of all of us, he deserved to cry the most?" Kaarii asked of me quietly as she sat upon her bed in our room.

"Not the most; just that he deserved the right to release it more so than the rest of us. Remember, we've been releasing our emotions almost since this whole thing started, but he's held it all in until just now. Not to mention that finding that family who had been killed by the storm and even the damage the storm had left behind all brought back the horrible memory of losing his one shimai. To be completely honest, I'm surprised he was able to hold it in as long as he did" I explained to her while holding onto Kuriko once again.

"Oh, that's right; I'd forgotten all about that" Kaarii replied quietly as she slid into her bed and, rolling onto her side, was soon asleep.

I turned out the light on our side of the room and both Kuriko and I soon fell asleep as well. However, in the middle of the night, Kaarii woke up screaming out her brother's name and many of the boys came running to make sure she was daijobu, with Luke and Josh sitting upon her bed soon after entering.

"Are you daijobu, Kaarii-chan; you gave us all quite a scare" Luke told her gently as he began to run a hand through her hair while Josh held her hand.

"Gomen nasai, I had a really bad dream" Kaarii apologized while looking to Luke; much like Kaoru, Kaarii had begun to view Luke as her oniichan instead of being just a friend.

"I can imagine. I won't be the least bit surprised if we don't all experience some kind of nightmare from yesterday's storm" Kanta commented quietly from the door.

"It wasn't just that, but when we removed one of the bodies from the house, it was my ototo" Kaarii said as she broke out sobbing so that Luke had to hold her against his chest while Josh rubbed her back comfortingly.

"I know, Kaarii-chan, I know; I did the same thing while we were sleeping in the shelter, only it was Isamu, Ami, Momoko, and Kuriko that we removed from the same blasted house. But I quickly reminded myself that it was just a bad dream and that my family and friends were just daijobu and was able to fall back to sleep. And so too is Chico; he's just daijobu and is really looking forward to seeing his oneesan when he gets here" Luke told her quietly and catching me by surprise; he had told me at the time that it was just a dream as he dismissed it to curl up with me that night.

"You're right, Oniichan; arigato for your kind words. And arigato for your help as well, Josh-kun" Kaarii said appreciatively as she released a tired yawn and both of them tucked her in for the night and remained in the room until she was asleep.

Rising up to quietly sneak out of the room so as to return to their own room, Luke gave pause to kiss both me and Kuriko on the cheek before departing, gently closing the door behind him.

"I suppose we can expect more of this the next couple of nights, but from the other girls" Taki-san said with a sigh of sadness as she understood how we felt.

"Maybe, but then again, maybe not, only time will tell. Oyasumi to tanoshii yume, Taki-san" Luke replied as he continued on his way to his room.

Since the power had been restored, the next day we all called home to report that we were daijobu and that we would be returning home soon. Luke even called up Kaoru to report that we were all well and that we were really looking forward to being reunited with her, Rikiya, and our families. After that, we all began to pack our things since we would be leaving the next morning to return home.

We were given a heartfelt send-off the next morning not only by the staff of Hotel Pearl Piari, but the whole city as we boarded the bus to begin our journey home. We soon began boarding the bus, with Kaarii actually accepting Josh's outstretched hand to help her up and she even hugged him in appreciation before taking hold of his hand to lead him to a pair of seats. Kuriko and Ken even eagerly sat together, though Luke and I made sure to seat them where we could keep an eye on them.

With that we soon left to begin our long journey home.

Somegorō's POV

I approached Taki-san and noticed a tear in her eyes as well as a grand smile on her face and so asked, "A yen for your thoughts?"

"I can't help but feel that our future rests in those children. Not only the future of Hotel Pearl Piari, but the future of our kingdoms" Taki-san replied as I noticed the cards in her pocket and just nodded my head in silence.

Momoko's POV

When we arrived back at the lab, we were all excitedly greeted by our families, friends, and almost the whole city. It was a loud, gala party, though at one point, I nudged Luke in the side to indicate Kaarii and Josh, standing off to the side, and they were kissing.

"Maybe things are finally starting to look up for those two" Luke whispered into my ear and I giggled as I nodded my head in agreement.

It was almost midnight by the time our welcome home party finally broke up and so we were dismissed to return to our respective homes where we all slept soundly and peacefully.

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><p><strong>Carly: That was an intense chapter.<strong>

**TCW: You can say that again.**

**Carly: So nani is in store for the next chapter?**

**Next time…**

**Kaarii: My ototo is coming to Japan to pay me a visit!**

**Momoko: We also get to meet Chico.**

**Kaoru: Not to mention that Akihiro learns to understand that while I do love him, I intend to marry Rikiya someday.**

**Luke: To say little of the fact that the Gangrene Gang is up to their old tricks again.**

**TCW: All this and much, much more, coming soon!**

**Carly and Momoko: Meanwhile, be sure to leave us some nice reviews, onegai!**

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><p><strong>Author's Note: Somegorō is the Squid King, a colleague of Taki-san and who makes a onetime appearance in an episode of Mermaid Melody (Season 3 Episode 19), an anime from which Taki-san and Hotel Pearl Piari originate. This is brought to you courtesy of my co-author, cakedecorator, or as I like to call her, Carly-chan.<strong>


	37. Week 7

**Domo arigato for your many great reviews! For this next chapter, we will be starting in Kaoru's POV…**

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><p><strong>Week 7<strong>

I was sitting on the edge of Akihiro's pool, feeding him some fish, when I heard the footfalls of someone approaching me from behind. I looked up expecting to see my boss, but instead noticed Rikiya was standing behind me.

"Konnichiwa, kawaii-sa" he greeted me sweetly as he bent down so as to share a kiss with me.

However, I had failed to notice that Akihiro had dipped below the water until he emerged and spat water all over Rikiya as I gasped in surprise. When turning to glare at Akihiro in annoyance, I couldn't help but giggle which only seemed to annoy Rikiya a bit further.

"Gomen nasai, Rikiya-chan; are you daijobu?" I asked of him while trying to stifle any further giggles.

"I'm daijobu, wet, but daijobu" he replied heatedly.

"You'll have to forgive Akihiro, he likes to play" I lightly informed Rikiya as I stood up so as to kiss him easier.

This time, though, just as our lips were about to meet, Akihiro lunged up out of the water and grabbed a hold of Rikiya's pants leg and pulled him into the water but soon let go as he didn't really wish to hurt Rikiya; he only wanted to keep Rikiya from kissing me.

Rising back to the surface and spitting the filtered sea water out of his mouth, Rikiya climbed back up out of the pool while shouting, "That tears it!"

He then stormed away to retrieve a harpoon and, when I saw him take hold of it, I sprinted off to the feeding platform that was in the center of the pool and threw the switch so as to retract the crosswalk before summoning Akihiro over to me.

"I don't believe this! You're protecting him when you should be reprimanding him!" Rikiya shouted and I just turned to glare at him with hurt and tears in my eyes.

"He's only playing; you don't have to threaten to kill him with a harpoon!" I shouted in return while wiping tears from my eyes and off my cheeks.

Sure, I knew it was just a papier-mâché stage prop that would bounce off of Akihiro without causing him any harm, but it was the point of the matter that hurt.

"Kaoru, wait a second…" he started to say when a group of security officers entered and began to forcefully escort him out of the building.

My boss soon entered the pool area as I was getting ready to start changing out of my wetsuit and told me, "I saw nani happened in the security camera; are you and our new star attraction doing daijobu?"

"His name is Akihiro and I'd really appreciate it if you didn't refer to him as a mere source of income for the aquarium" I replied firmly since I was still a bit miffed over Rikiya's behavior.

"Gomen nasai, I'm still having trouble remembering your orca's name. Are you sure you're daijobu?" he apologetically replied in concern.

"I just can't get over the fact that Rikiya grabbed a hold of that stupid fake harpoon like that; as though he actually intended to harm Akihiro" I replied as I pulled out a fresh towel from my locker.

"Well one can scarcely blame him; I mean, if an orca tried to come between me and my wife I'd probably really angry about it too" he replied with a light chuckle.

"And if it was an orca that your wife really loved as though it were a house cat, would you threaten to kill it?" I asked of him in annoyance.

"I hadn't thought of it that way, but now I can see your point" he replied with a sigh.

"Gomen nasai, but I'm meeting my mom for lunch and I really need to get cleaned up" I informed him before leaving to step into the furoba where I removed my wet suit before turning on the water to the shower head.

When I met up with mom, I told her about nani had happened earlier and even she seemed to understand.

"However, you do have to remember that Rikiya loves you and doesn't want Akihiro keeping you two separated. Maybe you should find a way to compromise by letting Akihiro know just how you two really feel about one another" she suggested to me and I began to think about it.

"You're right, mom; I do need to find a way to make Akihiro understand that Rikiya is my boyfriend" I replied and began to think of how to go about working with him on the subject.

Josh's POV

I awoke that morning from another dream about me and Kaarii where I was once again interrupted from fully confessing my love to her.

"Maybe I need to talk to the guys about this" I thought aloud as I began to get dressed before heading over to the lab.

"Hey, Josh-kun" greeted Luke as he was helping Ken with doing some research on the computer.

"Yo, Josh, think you can handle sweeping the Prof's chem. lab?" Takaaki inquired while tossing the broom and dustpan over to me.

"Sure thing" I replied while pulling out a CD to listen to while sweeping the lab.

Pazu's POV

I was dusting off the Professor's bookshelves when I heard music coming from the chemistry lab and went to see nani was going on in there only to see Josh talking to himself while standing in front of a mirror. Nani caught my attention the most was the fact that the Professor's missing copy of William Shakespeare poems was laid out on the counter top and opened to 'Romeo and Juliet' and so decided to take it up with the other guys.

"I think you're right, Pazu; I heard both 'Kiss the Girl' and 'Why Don't You Kiss Her' playing just a few minutes ago" Kanta noted to me.

"Maybe we should have a talk with him about it" offered Ken helpfully.

Josh's POV

I was rehearsing in front of a mirror in the lab when Luke called me into the main room where I noticed him and the other guys sitting around and waiting for me.

"Nani is the deal; I thought we were cleaning the lab today" I asked of them in confusion.

"The majority of it is already done, but nani we'd like to know is if you are okay?" Takaaki asked of me in all seriousness.

"I'm daijobu, why?" I replied in puzzlement.

"I found you talking to yourself in the mirror, the Professor's missing copy of William Shakespeare's poems on the counter and opened to Romeo and Juliet, and we all heard love songs being played on the CD player. Is there anything you'd like to talk about?" posed Pazu in mild concern.

With a sigh, I went into explanation on how I felt about Kaarii and how I wanted to confess my feelings to her only for both Kanta and Pazu to look at me in total surprise.

"I had a feeling that might have been the case, either that or you ran into the pole at the amusement park due to a lack of coordination" noted Takaaki smartly yet smiling all the same.

"It's understandable, Josh; many guys have the same problem. If not for Momoko foolishly risking her life to try and help me while staying with us in the U.S., I'd have never found it in me to confess my feelings to her" Luke replied honestly much to my amazement.

"Luke-kun makes a good point. Not even I had a very easy time of confessing my feelings to Miyako-chan until I was possessed by Kare's dark spores and she told me how much she was concerned for my well-being" Takaaki added seriously and I began to understand nani it was they were telling me.

"So does that mean it's easier to confess when in emotional moments or that it would be better to wait until the appropriate moment arises?" I asked of them, trying to understand better.

"More to the latter as emotions from those moments can often times force your mouth and brain to say that which your heart is trying to make you say" Luke replied and I nodded my head in agreement.

"But when is the right moment?" I then asked of them since Pazu and Kanta had already gotten back to work cleaning up the lab.

"That is something that can't be predicted, your heart will tell you when the time comes" Luke replied with Takaaki nodding his head in full agreement.

With that said we then got back to work in getting the lab completely cleaned.

Kaarii's POV

I was nervously waiting my turn in the security line to meet Chico's flight to arrive. However, when my turn came around, they began to experience a little trouble with their scanning machine and so said that they would have to perform a pat-down on me to ensure that I was weapon-free so as to continue.

"Sumimasen, but you are _not _touching me anywhere near 'there'!" I firmly told the male security guard as he was about to check underneath my skirt.

"Gomen nasai, but we have to be thorough" a female security guard told me as she took the guy's place so as to check me over, much to my disgust.

"You'd think I was trying to board the stupid plane myself instead of just waiting for my ototo" I grumbled once I was dismissed to put my shoes back on.

"I know, honey, but it's vital for airport security" dad informed me with patience while putting his own shoes on.

"With all due respect, that's easy for you to say, dad. They got the machine working again by the time you went through; I had to be patted down and a woman had to check my underpants to make sure I wasn't hiding any weapons in them" I replied in a disgusted and miffed tone.

"And if Chico sees his oneechan's unhappiness, he may decide to return instead of staying" dad cautioned me and so I began to focus on things that make me happy so as to alleviate my anger.

When we approached the waiting area, we couldn't help but notice a large crowd of people gathered around and even a news crew seemed to be waiting for the next flight's arrival.

"Nani is going on?" I inquired curiously as I stepped into the gift/souvenir shop to purchase a bottle of water.

"Oh, you didn't hear? The U.S. ambassador's son is coming in on the next flight so as to spend the week visiting with his father" the woman replied. "I hear he's really cute!"

"I have iie interest in any kind of romantic entanglements right now, arigato" I replied firmly as I paid for my water and soon departed to wait for Chico's flight to arrive.

"You're going to give yourself an 'anti-men' complex if you're not careful, Kaarii-chan" dad calmly lectured me with a chuckle.

"Well, I may be becoming interested in this one guy, but I'm still leery of the situation right now" I replied honestly; I mean, though I'd never actually tell him, Josh was beginning to grow on me.

Soon the next flight's arrival was being announced and I stood up to watch as the plane taxied up to the gate. I was trying to struggle through the crowd when the first person, Chico, stepped off of the plane and was quickly abducted by the Gangrene Gang, though the crowd seemed to pay little attention as they were interested in the boy who followed after Chico.

I dashed off after the Gangrene Gang but they not only had a strong head start, but they also jumped into the back of a van and sped away.

Now I was furious and quickly transformed into Feminine Bridgette to give pursuit while my father called after me, "Go get them, Bridgette-chan!"

With the way they were weaving in and out of traffic, I found it hard to keep up with them until they pulled off of the highway and over to a group of warehouses.

I landed upon the roof of the building that the Gangrene Gang had taken to hiding within and I carefully lowered myself to gaze inside a broken window and listened in on their conversation.

"Sugoi, nani a haul we're going to make when we ransom off this kid!" Ace crowed triumphantly after they had finished tying up Chico and taping his mouth shut.

Chico tried to say something in return but was muffled by the tape.

"Save your breath, runt! Now we've got to figure out how to go about writing up the ransom note; we want it to sound professional after all, don't we guys…guys…guys" Ace was saying to his companions when Snake pointed to the screen of a small television set that was running a broadcast of the ambassador being reunited with his son.

"Wait a second…if the ambassador's brat is there, then who the hell do we have here?" Ace inquired and I took this as my cue.

Crashing down through the warehouse's skylight, I landed right between the five of them and Chico, while glaring at them with all the hate in the world. I tried to draw my katana-tachi from their sheaths, but for some reason they seemed a lot longer than normal, so I just threw their sheaths forward and knocking out Arturo with them.

"Dude, those are nodachi, but with elongated blades!" Snake said with nervousness in his voice and I gazed down at my swords to notice that their blades were now one and a half times longer than I was tall.

"I know, I know; they're a lot like Sephiroth's masamune!" Ace exclaimed in surprise.

"For messing with Chico…you…baka-tachi…shall…DIE!" I growled in such a tenacious manner that my voice almost sounded like that of a dragon's.

I charge forward as quickly as a cheetah and, with a spin-kick, slammed Big Billy in the chest so that he was sent rocketing some hundred feet away. Fast as lightning, I turned around and slammed Grubber in his back with the non-lethal edges of my swords so that he was sent sprawling across the warehouse floor until he collided with a stack of wooden crates and they fell upon him.

I couldn't see Snake anywhere, so I turned my attention towards Ace; I wanted his blood the most.

"Now, now, can't we talk this over like civilized individuals?" Ace asked while trying to placate me.

"Talk is cheap; you die now" I growled as I leaped into the air and, directing my swords towards his chest, prepared to pierce through him just as another voice yelled out, "Stop, Bridgette-sama!"

I paused in making my attack to turn and look at Chico as Snake untied him while he continued, "You can't kill someone, Bridgette-sama; it's not the Powerpuff Z way" Chico told me as he was helped to stand up and was allowed to approach me. "Besides, if you kill him, you and I will have to remain here until the authorities arrive and I really want to be reunited with my oneechan."

I felt my anger dissipate as I looked into Chico's eyes and slowly nodded my head in agreement as my swords returned to normal.

"You're right, Chico-chan; let's go home" I replied quietly as I took him up in my arms and carried him back up through the skylight and towards home.

We flew along in silence, but when we touched down, he turned to comment, "You really do look good in your Bridgette uniform, Oneechan."

"Nani…how did you…" I started to ask of him when I noticed the somewhat sassy look on his face.

"I haven't been your ototo all these years not to know my oneechan when I see her, even if she is in a Powerpuff Girl Z uniform" he replied with a smile as we tearfully embraced each other.

Dad soon approached from the house and guided both of us inside where I was allowed to take Chico up to my room. Once he was seated at my desk, I stepped away to revert back to my street form and we once again embraced each other. I then handed him his special gift which he was really thrilled with receiving.

"Only problem is, that there are now two more Powerpuffs Z so that collection may have decreased in value considerably" I informed him as he was looking over the signatures.

"Actually, iie, its value has increased as this is the collection from before the two new members joined up and the toy manufacturer is going to make about ten thousand complete collections within the next couple of years or so" Chico replied excitedly as I also handed him my conciliation prize as well: the complete collection of the Yugioh Powerpuffs Z expansion pack; pink edition. "Aw, sweet; I've wanted this collection for some time now!"

"Later on, if you like, I can arrange for you to meet the others too" I told him with a smile as he added a few more cards to the collection.

"That'll *yawn* be great. Domo arigato, oneechan; I've missed you" he replied as we hugged each other again.

"And I've missed you something terrible too" I replied as I broke out crying again until I felt him starting to get heavier as he was dozing off.

I pulled him over to my bed and undressed him of his outer clothing before doing the same of me and lay down upon my bed as I pulled Chico up against me and we drifted off to sleep. Dad entered the room and shook us awake to tell us that it was time to eat dinner.

"After dinner, you two can take a bath and then turn in for the night" Dad said to both of us with a smile and we nodded our heads in agreement.

We were dismissed to take our baths, which we decided to share for old time's sake but paid little attention to anything but being together once again. We were sitting side-by-side while soaking up the warm water of the o-furo while trading stories of nani all we had been up to since having been forced to part from one another.

"I wish there was some way for dad to get custody over me so that I can live here with you, Oneechan" Chico said with a sigh as we rose up out of the water to begin getting dried off and dressed in our pajamas.

"Well, in a few more years you'll be old enough to make your own decisions and maybe then you can come to live here in Tokyo not too far away from me" I offered him as we lay supine upon my bed together and staring up at the stars and moon in the night sky.

"Un, but lately mom's been sick and I'm starting to worry about her" Chico replied with a sigh.

"Nani, mom's sick; nani is wrong?" I asked of him with a slight amount of concern; sure, I didn't exactly like my mother for her attitude towards me since I began learning how to fight with a katana, but that didn't mean I stopped caring about her.

"The isha-tachi aren't real sure just yet as they need to run some more tests, but mom can't keep missing any work or she'll lose her job and thus her insurance" Chico replied and I nodded my head in understanding. "Mom's hoping that you'll come back to pay her a visit…minus the swords, of course."

"I'll have to give it some thought" I replied with a yawn while we were climbing into my bed together and we were soon fast asleep.

The next morning, as per my agreement, I took Chico to the lab to meet the others. However, when we arrived, iie one was in uniform and so we all sat down together to talk while Josh sent me a wink; I didn't know how to take that so I just dismissed it.

"So Chico-kun, which of the Powerpuffs Z is your favorite?" inquired Kuriko as she was the only other girl to sit next to him besides me.

"Well my favorite Powerpuff Boy Z has to be Blade, but my favorite Powerpuff Girl Z is definitely Bridgette" Chico replied honestly while engaged in a game of Duel Monsters with Ken and using his new Powerpuff Z expansion pack.

"I tried that game once, but I could quite grasp the concept" Momoko replied while watching the game intently.

"It's a game of strategy and math" Chico replied as he laid down a card featuring Blade's power belt before taking two more cards from his hand and moving them to the discard pile while pulling out his Solar Blade card and placing it upon the playing field.

Ken folded his cards, set them atop his deck, and placed his hand over the deck, signaling he was forfeiting the game while saying, "You win, Chico-kun; there's iie way any of my creatures can stack up against Blade."

"Un, first thing I'm going to do when I get home is to show these off to my friends and use these cards to wipe the smirk off this one guy's face; he has a couple of Egyptian God cards and always pulls them out in every one of his battles" Chico replied while collecting up his cards and putting them back in their box.

However, while he was putting his cards away, the rest of us snuck away to a distance and transformed into our alternate identities without Chico being aware of it until Blade said, "Then you may wish to add these to your collections as well; fresh from the factory.

Chico looked up in stunned silence as he saw us in our Powerpuff Z uniforms and slowly, hesitantly took the offered cards into his hands featuring the two new members of the Powerpuff Z, the new Dynamo Z cards, a new equipment magic card for Blade being in the form of his new buster sword, as well as a Super Nova Finish magic card, and two special field magic cards; two sets each, one in pink and the others gold holo-foil editions.

"I'll really be able to tear up with these new cards, sugoi; domo arigato, Blade-sama!"" Chico said in great appreciation while shaking hands with him.

"You handle those cards rather well, but let's see you handle this" he then said as he removed his buster sword and carefully placed it into Chico's hands.

Chico put his all into holding the sword, but had to quickly drop the tip as he couldn't support its weight.

"Is it true that these hearts are real, raw rubies?" Chico then asked as he gazed down upon the sword's hilt.

"Hai, that's very true" Blossom replied with a smile towards Blade.

"Where did you get the money?" Blade then asked of her as he gazed first from his sword and then to Blossom.

"They were donated by a local jeweler who said that she owed you her life" Blossom replied honestly.

"Is there any doubt why I love you?" Blade then inquired of her as he kissed her.

"Not from any of us" the rest of us replied while giggling and chuckling at the two of them.

The rest of the week went by smoothly and soon I was once again saying a tearful sayonara to Chico as was getting ready to board the plane for his flight home, only this time, all of my friends were also with me to ensure he was sent off safely.

"Promise me you'll write?" I asked of Chico as we were hugging each other.

"Hai, I promise, oneechan" Chico murmured into my ear.

Chico's flight was then summoned to the gate and he departed from my arms to get in line; making sure to throw in one last wave before proceeding down the ramp to board the plane. Dad had to guide me back to my friends as I was crying so heavily that I couldn't see.

"Better clear the tears away, Kaarii-chan, or you won't be able to see the plane leave" Josh informed me as he passed me a handkerchief and I took it to wipe the tears from my eyes.

We then walked outside and watched as Chico's plane taxied out onto the runway and was soon racing down the runway until it became airborne and we all waved sayonara to the plane before I turned to bury my face into my father's chest once more.

"Don't worry, Kaarii-chan; you'll see him again someday" Luke told me while placing a comforting hand upon my shoulder and I turned to smile up at him while wiping the tears from my once again.

"You're right, oniichan; I will see him again" I replied before embracing him and the rest of my friends.

Kaoru's POV

I was sitting on the edge of the pool with Akihiro and giving him some affection after a demonstration, "Un, you were a good boy today."

"Is it permissible to come aboard, Captain?" a familiar voice inquired and I turned to see Rikiya standing at the far end of the crosswalk. "I'm unarmed."

It had been a week since we'd spoken to each other and part of me really wanted to run up and throw myself into his arms while the other part of me still wanted to be a little angry with him.

"Look I wanted to apologize for my actions earlier; I was completely out of line" he said in further apology, but again I remained silent as I fed a few more fish to Akihiro.

"If you're still angry, I'll go, but I want to hear it from you first" Rikiya then told me and I turned to look at him.

"Do you promise to keep your temper in check from now on?" I finally asked of him quite seriously.

"Hai, I do" he replied and I could see he was telling me the truth from the look in his eyes.

"Good, because when the time comes and we have any children, you are going to have to know how to keep that temper of yours in check" I replied as I began to cross over the bridge to approach his side of the pool.

"Of course, I also wish to apologize to you, too, Akihiro-chan" he said as he apologized to Akihiro with a bow only to Akihiro rise up out of the water to touch noses with Rikiya and causing me to giggle.

"Hey, in some parts of the world rubbing noses is a way of showing affection to loved ones" Rikiya told me while blushing as I approached.

I reached up and wrapped my arms around his neck and pressed my nose to his before we kissed each other properly.

"We've got another demonstration in a couple of hours; want to head over to the cafeteria to grab some lunch first?" I asked of him while washing my hands.

"You bet I do" Rikiya replied as we kissed again and soon departed to get some lunch; I just couldn't stay mad at him.

After the next demonstration, which Rikiya stuck around to watch from the background and both Akihiro and I were able to move over to his regular tank, I headed off to the showers.

"You two sure are quite a hit" Rikiya praised me and Akihiro as I gave him his final feeding of the day.

"Domo arigato, fortunately they're only two times, two days of the week" I replied appreciatively as I dropped the last fish into Akihiro's mouth and then kissed him before heading off to the showers. "Would you care to help me out of my wetsuit?" I asked of Rikiya with a coy smile and his eyes lit up as he nodded his head in agreement.

We took a shower together, being sure to remain celibate, and soon after we left to return home, though now I had an engagement ring upon my hand.

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><p><strong>Carly: Such a sweet chapter!<strong>

**TCW: Domo arigato! And thus ends Part 3.**

**Carly: Already; sugoi, that was fast. So nani is in store for the next part and chapter?**

**Next time…**

**Momoko: It's back to school, only we're in college this time!**

**Kaarii: And Momoko, TCW, and Carly have decided to let me and Josh have the first chapter of Part 4!**

**Josh: Though we will also be hearing from the others as well.**

**Mysterious characters: Not to mention that we get to make our first debut!**

**Josh and Kaarii: Who said that?**

**TCW: Find out about these new characters and a whole lot more coming soon in Part 4: The College Years.**

**Carly and Momoko: Meanwhile, be sure to leave us some nice reviews, onegai!**


	38. Part 4 & Kaarii and Josh's First Day

**Part 4: The College Years**

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><p><strong>Arigato for the many great reviews, friends! As you can tell by the title of Part 4, this section will cover the years our heroes spend in college. For this first chapter, I promised my co-author that we would start off with her and another friend's O.C.'s, so without further ado, let's get started with…<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Kaarii's and Josh's First Day<strong>

Early the following morning, we all met up in front of the lab to wish each other well as we were to begin attending college that day. Miyako was attending a fashion/design school; Luke, Ami, Pazu, and I were to be heading off to medical college; while Kaarii and Josh were to attend St. Marie Academy to become Pâtissière-tachi, though neither had any idea the other was attending.

As for Kaoru and Rikiya, they were training to become marine biologists while working at the aquarium where the greater majority of their training took place; kind of a 'home school-like' situation since their educators were also employees of the aquarium.

Isamu and Kanta, however, were learning business management as they wanted to open up an Asian gift shop where they sold everything from kimonos to weaponry to even small pieces of furniture like dressing screens, tatami mats, and cushions. Isamu was even studying to become a sensei in the art of kendo as she wished to teach children much like her favorite sensei from back in elementary school had done.

Kaarii's POV

I was standing in front of St. Marie's Academy looking up at the statue that resided in the center of the entrance court when I inhaled deeply so as to prepare myself and, quickly releasing my held breath, I exclaimed, "I'm ready for this!"

I then ran inside and approached my first classroom where I noticed a few tables sitting in the front and marked with a sign that read 'First Years' and decided to join some other girls at this one table.

"I'm attending classes here because all eldest daughters in my family have come here since they first opened; I really wanted to become a hair stylist" groused this one girl, named Yura, in annoyance.

"Sounds to me like you should have stood up for yourself and told your parents nani you really wanted to do. As for me, I've always enjoyed cooking and baking so I figured to make a career out of it" I replied honestly.

"Really; it's pretty much the same for me, though I intend to inherit the family bakery and turn it into a multi-million yen producing factory full of bakery treats" added this one other girl, named Mitsune, rather haughtily.

"I remember watching my obaachan bake in her kitchen while talking to her Sweets Spirit; though I never saw it, I knew it was there and I've always desired having one of my own" mentioned a girl to my right, named Hinata, rather quietly.

"A Sweets Spirit; you mean to tell me that you believe in such ridiculous things as Sweets Spirits?" inquired Mitsune in ridicule.

"I don't know about that. As Shakespeare once wrote: 'There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy'; so in honesty, anything's possible" I shared in Hinata's defense.

"Wonderful, and next you'll tell me that there are little girls running around in a meadow somewhere dressed in fruity dresses and living in gingerbread and cupcake houses; nani is this, Candy Land? Let me know when you two decide to grow up and get real" scoffed Mitsune as she rose up from her seat and moved to the other table.

"I suppose I won't be making very many friends this year" Hinata said with a sad sigh.

"I don't know about that; you met me and I'd be honored to be your friend" I replied with a smile which Hinata quickly reflected.

One thing that I couldn't help but notice, were the many guys looking at me and talking to one another behind their hands to some of the other guys. One of them even tried to give me a kissy-face which I just rolled my eyes at while looking away with a visible shudder and feeling repulsed.

"Do you have a problem with guys, Kaarii-chan?" Hinata asked of me as she had noticed my disgusted shiver.

"Hai, teenage guys can't be trusted, especially punk ones" I replied with in aggravation, which I was careful not to direct at her since I didn't want to turn away my only friend thus far.

Our sensei soon entered the classroom pushing and pulling two wheeled-bins which had white aprons and chefs' hats within them and set them up in the middle of the classroom before turning to approach the one chalkboard where she wrote her name upon the board.

"Ohayo, class; I am Panya-sensei and I really look forward to getting to know all of you over the course of the next couple of years. Now to begin, First Year students, onegai, rise up as I call your name, stand up, introduce yourself, and briefly tell us why you are interested in learning to become a Pâtissière" our sensei said as she began calling upon us.

Once this was done, though Panya-sensei had to really reprimand the class to get back under control when Hinata had made her introduction, she began to pass out some recipe books.

"Now, first we're going to see how well all of our First Years can do with nani they already know" sensei then instructed as she led each of us over to a different work station and placing a recipe card upon a clip that was attached to the oven hoods.

I quickly read the recipe given to me and got straight to work by preheating the oven. I turned to a small refrigerator and extracted the milk, butter, and a few eggs and began to measure out the milk before putting it back into the refrigerator. I then turned to a cabinet and pulled out a bag of flour, white and brown sugar, and some white chocolate chips. These I also began measuring out before returning them to the cabinet.

I picked up a mixing bowl and began to blend the dry ingredients together before adding the milk, eggs, and butter, which I then stirred in gently using, the supplied electric mixer, and finally the white chocolate chips. Once all of this was mixed well, I picked up a baking pan and used a stick of butter to grease the pan. I then picked up a small ice cream scoop which I used to scoop the mixture up with and began to place it upon the pan, making an even dozen per pan for a total of two dozen cookies.

I then carefully slipped these into the oven and set the timer for the appropriate amount of time and began cleaning up the bowls, measuring cups, and the varying utensils I had used. When I was done washing the dishes, the timer went off and I extracted the fresh white chocolate chip cookies from the oven and set them upon a cooling rack.

Hinata had baked some brownies with chocolate frosting and gooey caramel centers, though her recipe had called for either walnuts or pecans.

"Gomen nasai, Panya-sensei, but I'm allergic to walnuts and the pecans didn't look very fresh" Hinata apologized but was still given a high mark alongside of me; sensei checked the pecans and agreed that they were going bad as she threw them away.

Yura had used pepper instead of salt in her crepes and was thus given a failing grade. Mitsune had used entirely too much sugar in her cupcakes which were also burnt and thus was also given a failing grade.

There were two other First Year girls who passed along with two guys both of whom kept trying to slip their arms around me only to get an elbow in the stomach as well as my telling them off.

The next part of our lessons was reading and comprehension of recipe books. I noticed this one girl, named Laura, having trouble reading a recipe card as she was squinting and trying to look closer and closer at the card in front of her. I then reached into my handbag and extracted a magnifying glass and placed it onto the table beside her as she was rubbing her eyes from trying to read the small print. She looked over towards me and smiled appreciatively as she took up the magnifying glass I lent her and began reading the instructions better. When Panya-sensei came by, having noticed nani I had done, she gave my shoulder a gentle squeeze and an encouraging smile which I reflected before returning to my reading.

We were then dismissed for lunch where Hinata, Laura, and I decided to sit together as we were really interested in forming up a team, though Laura would say, "I think we could use a couple of boys on the team as well."

"Anything but one of those hormonal baka-tachi that keep trying to wrap their arms around me" I replied with firm resolve.

"Well, iie, I wouldn't advise any of those guys, but I have heard that there's this one really cute guy who's learning to make frozen treats like, sherbet, ice cream, sorbet, and even fruit pops. He's supposed to be in our next class" Hinata said while blushing lightly.

"I wish you well with him then" I replied with a wave of my hand to signal dismissal.

"Do you have an anti-boy complex or something?" Laura asked of me in mild concern.

"Iie, I just know that teenage boys aren't to be trusted" I replied firmly.

"Do you really believe all boys are untrustworthy?" inquired Hinata lightly; from the look on her face, I think she was about to take up my anti-boy policy herself.

"Well, I do know this one boy whom I can wholeheartedly trust; he's kind of been like an oniisan to me and many of my friends since the day we met him. Of course, it also helps knowing that he has the hots for my friend, Momoko, instead of me" I replied in honesty.

"You must have had a bad experience once to feel that way" noted Laura sympathetically.

"I'd rather not talk about it" I said in finality as I went back to eating my lunch.

"So nani is the focus for our next class?" Hinata asked so as to change the subject.

"According to the schedule, the next class is Cakes 101" Laura replied while looking at her schedule; we were lucky enough to share every one of our classes.

Laura and Hinata went ahead to our next class, but I had to stop to use the oteari. I was on my way to the next classroom when I walked around a corner and plowed right into another person.

"Ite; gomen nasai, I didn't see you…coming" I said as I picked myself up off the floor and stared in disbelief at the person standing up in front of me: Josh.

"Iie, I should be the one apologizing; I should have been watching where I was…going" Josh started to reply while rubbing his backside before turning to look at me in shock.

"Nani are you doing here?" we asked of each other simultaneously; him with surprise and me almost accusatorily.

"I'm here to learn how to become a Pâtissière" I replied firmly.

"You'll do quite well at that. As for me, I'm learning to become an Ice-Creamer*" Josh replied honestly.

"Good, then there's iie way any of our classes will coincide with one another" I said harshly before storming off to my next classroom.

"Are you daijobu, Kaarii-chan?" inquired Hinata as I sat down beside her in a huff.

"I don't wish to discuss it" I replied as I crossed my arms across my chest angrily, which was not directed at Hinata.

Just then, of all people to walk through the door, Josh entered the classroom, causing me to stand up and shout out in indignation, "If you were going to stalk me all the way to Culinary School, the least you could have done was warn me. Mou~!"

Before Josh could even reply, many in the classroom began to chuckle and giggle at us which only further added to my indignation and embarrassment. Josh remained silent, but turned away from me to head over to an empty table where he sat down.

Face-palming myself in aggravation, I muttered, "My first day at St. Marie, and the _one boy_ whom I felt was going to treat me right turns me into a _laughingstock_."

"With all due respect, Kaarii-chan, but you did _that_ to yourself when you shouted out the way you did when all he did was to enter the classroom" Hinata gently reprimanded me and all I could do was to brood over it; she was right, after all.

Soon, our next sensei, Sato-sensei, entered the classroom and immediately began to assign each of us to a station where we were to make chocolate cakes. I felt that this would be a breeze, but with my being angry with Josh, I accidentally used dark chocolate instead of milk chocolate and semi-sweet chocolate chips. I still received a high grade in spite of my mistake, but I wasn't willing to accept it. I turned to storm out of the room, but didn't see the spilt milk on the floor and slipped on it, landing hard on my o-shiri.

Josh came over while asking, "Are you daijobu, Kaarii-chan?" and offering his hand to help me up, but I slapped his hand away before standing up on my own power and ran out of the room and towards the roof.

I sat down and began crying quite heavily while complaining, "This just isn't my day! First Josh is attending the same school, then he's in one of my classes, he then turns around and makes me yell at him so that I become the laughingstock of the school, and to make matters worse, I went and made such a stupid mistake!"

Once I had managed to pull myself together, I then decided to wait until nightfall to sneak back into the kitchen to try again. I slipped out of my room and descended down the stairs and across the compound to slip into the kitchen and clicked on just enough lights to allow me to see nani I was doing.

I went back over to my station and began to re-read the card and realized where I had made my mistake and decided to amend it this time by using the correct milk chocolate instead of dark chocolate.

And yet, the whole time, I felt like I was being watched even though I knew there was iie one else in the kitchen with me.

Unknown POV

I fluttered and hovered around the window, intently watching the girl inside as she mixed all of the ingredients carefully, set the timer on the oven and soon placed the mixture into the oven after pouring it into a pan. She then turned and returned to her station and began to clean up the dishes she had used and soon the timer went off.

With graceful style, she opened the oven door and extracted a nice looking chocolate cake which she first checked to make sure it was completely cooked by sticking a toothpick pick into it which she then extracted and checked to see if any uncooked batter was clinging to it; there was none.

"Perfect; now to get a platter to set this upon to finish it" I heard her say as she walked over and picked up a nice round cake platter which she then carefully extracted the cake out onto.

She then began to smooth a marshmallow icing over the top of the cake before picking up a strawberry icing which she smoothed around the edges. Taking up a piping bag, she then began piping red icing around the edges. Changing to a different piping back, this one with a much finer tip, she then began to create a swirling design over the top and sides of the cake with a very pale green tea icing. Lastly, she applied just a slight amount of gold dust to the swirling design before stepping back to smile brightly down at the cake.

"Now to think of a message to write in the center…oh, I know!" she then exclaimed as she picked up another piping bag with purple icing in it and began to write out: 'Do Your Best!'

Kaarii's POV

I then cleaned up everything and walked back over to the cake I had just finished decorating and smiled brightly down at its many wonderful colors when a small voice exclaimed, "That was a great performance!"

A butterfly then approached me and then turned into a fairy-like girl. Her hair was orange-yellow, worn in two braids, and was wearing a peach-colored bonnet on her head. Her dress was yellow-orange and came with a red-orange apron, and the skirt went to her knees while the top had sleeves that went to her wrists. Her shoes were red-orange with yellow-orange socks, and the girl's eyes were pink.

"Eh; nani in the world…?" I asked as I backed up in surprise.

"I like how professionally you can bake and decorate; iie matter nani the environment!" the girl said as she began to approach closer.

"S-S-S-Stay back; I have a…spoon, and I'm not afraid to use it!" I shouted, holding up a wooden spoon like a sword.

"Onegai, calm down" the girl said, as she fluttered over to me and bowed kindly. "Where are my manners? My name is Clemintina, a Sweets Spirit."

"You're a Sweets Spirit? I was wondering if they were real or not, but I guess my first hunch was correct" I said, lowering my spoon, as I began to relax.

"I've been watching you since this morning when you first arrived," Clemintina said. "And I like you a lot!"

"Y...You do?" I replied in slight confusion.

"Sure! You're diligent, smart, focused, and very flexible, though a bit of a perfectionist. I was looking for a partner for years, and now I've found her!" Clemintina said as she hovered over the cake I had just finished and reading the message written upon it.

"You mean me?" I inquired in surprise.

"Un; that is…if you'll let me" Clemintina said somewhat shyly.

"Well, then I'm honored to be your partner, Clemintina! I hope you can bear with me during my years here" I said, as I held out my pointer finger and tapped Clemintina's hand.

The two of us then started laughing happily as we celebrated their new friendship with a slice of the cake I had just finished and a small glass of sparkling white grape juice before turning in for the night.

Josh's POV

I had just finished getting my chocolate pound cake out of the oven and tested it to see that it was properly baked.

"At least the hard part's done now" I muttered with a sigh as I kept getting so annoyed with Kaarii's behavior and the way so many of the guys in our glass were making eyes at her that it took three attempts to get the recipe just right.

I then walked over towards the refrigerator where I was letting some ice cream soften up and yanked the door open only to say to myself, "Still needs to soften up a little more."

I then closed the door, not noticing a butterfly that I had unintentionally trapped inside. I then began to wash up the dishes I had used and once again turned to check up on the ice cream only to find a small fairy-like girl sitting in front of the carton with her arms bound around her upper body tightly

"Oh my…are you daijobu?" I asked of the small creature as I carried her over to the oven I had just used and was still emitting some warmth.

"Hai, I think so" the small being replied as she warmed herself in front of the oven; even bending over to warm her little posterior.

"Gomen nasai, I didn't know you were in there" I apologized to her when she took flight once more and landed beside the chocolate pound cake, that was when I noticed her apparel: she wore a pink-red maid-style dress complete with lime-green apron and cap. She also had on knee-high orange-colored socks with pink-red shoes and her white hair was in a bun and she had amethyst-colored eyes.

"A chocolate heart-shaped pound cake; either you're making it for someone you really like or it's for a client who wants it for just such a purpose" she then noted to me with a smile.

"You're right, uh…gomen nasai, but I didn't get your name" I then asked of her.

"My name is Sherbet and I'm a Sweets Spirit" she replied and for the first time, I noticed she had a small, silver ice cream scoop in her hands.

"Sugoi, I haven't seen a Sweets Spirit since I was real little and even then I thought I was merely dreaming" I replied in surprise before taking up the softened strawberry ice cream and began to empty out the container onto the pound cake which I had sitting in the bottom of a heart-shaped mold.

Spreading it out so that it lay upon the cake evenly, I then went to get the softened vanilla ice cream to spread a thinner layer atop the strawberry. I approached the counter when I realized I had left the spoon in the warm-water dip tray.

"I'll get it for you!" Sherbet announced as she flew over to the dip tray and pulled out the spoon but lost her balance and fell face-first into the warm water; she was crying her little eyes out when she resurfaced and I pulled her up out of the water.

"It's daijobu now, you don't have to cry; accidents happen" I told her comfortingly as I picked up her wet hat out of the water and wrung it out in one hand while still holding onto her with the other.

"I'm a klutz; that's why iie one ever wants me for a partner" she then told me while sobbing and I couldn't help but smile at her.

"Well, you're my little partner now, so let's get the cake finished and then we'll get you dried off, daijobu?" I replied to her and she nodded her head while rubbing the tears from her eyes.

Once we finished adding the vanilla ice cream, I put it back into the freezer for the ice cream to harden up enough to apply the icing. While waiting I picked up a small hand towel and cut it into some strips of cloth before taking Sherbet up in my hand and helped her out of her wet clothes and bound the cloth strips around her. I then laid her clothes out on a pan and set them on top of the warm oven to let them dry while adding another pan to act as an iron to press the wrinkles out.

I then returned to the freezer to pull the cake back out and carefully removed it from its pan and began to cover it in raspberry red icing. I then piped some white frosting around the top perimeter and then piped some pink icing around the bottom perimeter of the heart. Taking up the white frosting again, I wrote out: 'I'm sorry, Kaarii-chan.'

"You must really like this Kaarii person, huh?" Sherbet asked of me and I told her about how infatuated I was with her, how much I cared about her, but how much she wanted nothing to do with guys.

Kaarii's POV

I was walking down the hallway back to my room with Clementina sitting on my shoulder when I suddenly sensed someone talking about me. I grabbed a hold of my head as I dropped to my knees as many horrible memories from the past flooded my mind.

"Are you daijobu, Kaarii-chan?" inquired Clementina in concern and I told her about nani had just happened.

"Maybe I should talk to Luke about it" I commented with a sigh as I stood back up while massaging my forehead.

"Is he your boyfriend or something?" Clementina inquired innocently.

"Iie, he's just a friend who's head-over-heels in love with another friend of mine named Momoko; I expect he may even pop the big question to her sometime soon. But he's also the one boy I feel like I can trust as he's always been more like my oniisan than anything" I replied to her in honesty.

"Then I agree; you should seek him out for advice" offered Clementina with an encouraging smile and we then headed off to bed together.

Quietly sneaking into my room so as not to disturb my roommate and new friend, Hinata, Clementina and I changed into our pajamas, bid each other 'oyasumi to amai yume' and turned in for the night.

Josh's POV

"So when are you going to tell her how you feel?" Sherbet asked hopefully

"I've iie clue, Sherbet, but I will try when the time feels right. Although, Kaarii-chan isn't quite ready for a relationship, but she won't articulate as to why" I replied with a sigh.

"Maybe she's too focused on her career as a Pâtissière to think about having a relationship with anyone right now" Sherbet offered me helpfully while I pulled her clothes off the stove top and checked them; they were nicely dried and pressed and she was able to get dressed once again.

"I guess; I mean it makes the most sense so far" I replied while in thought as I returned the cake to the freezer.

With that done, I took Sherbet up in my hand and placed her in my pocket where she could peer out without falling out as we headed off for bed.

I set her down upon the nightstand in my room and changed into my pajamas while she used her ice cream scoop to transform her own clothes into an orange nightgown. I got a couple of face clothes and set them up as a futon, pillow, and blanket which she eagerly slid into and quickly made herself comfortable.

"Oyasumi to amai yume, Sherbet-chan" I bid her with a smile.

"Oyasumi to tanoshii yume, Josh-kun" she bid me in return with a yawn as I clicked off the light and we went to sleep.

Kaarii's POV

The alarm sounded at 8:00 the next morning and we all rose up and began to get dressed, though Clementina was careful not let herself be seen by Hinata.

"I wonder nani we're going to be baking today" Hinata pondered aloud while she and I were heading for the cafeteria together to get some breakfast.

"I'm not too sure, but since class doesn't start until later this morning, I'm going to make some cinnamon rolls to take to a couple of friends who are attending medical school together" I replied with Clementina hiding in my shirt pocket.

After a quick breakfast, I headed for the kitchen where I began mixing up the cinnamon mixture as well as the pastry dough with Clementina helping. I began to spread the cinnamon onto the pastry dough while Clementina set the temperature on the oven for me and together we rolled the cinnamon covered pastry so that the cinnamon was on the inside and placed them onto a pan.

"An even dozen; your friends are going to love these!" Clementina noted with a big smile as I put the pan into the oven.

"Twenty minutes should just about do it" I said as I set the timer. "Now let's start cleaning up."

While washing the dishes, Clementina inquired of me, "So do you want to finish them with icing or a honey glaze?"

"I think we'll use icing this time. Next time we'll make honey buns for them" I replied as I set the last bowl into the strainer to drip dry and dried my hands with a towel as the timer went off.

Carefully extracting the cinnamon rolls from the oven, I set them aside to cool when Hinata slipped into the room explaining, "I thought to come and see if you could use some help."

"Arigato, but I'm almost done" I replied while pulling out some white icing and a spatula.

"You really are good at baking, so why come here?" Hinata inquired innocently.

"Because I wish to challenge myself with new ideas and concepts; I know many of your more simple recipes like pancakes, sweet rolls, and most cakes, but there are still some things I don't know" I replied honestly.

"You know, they're supposed to announce the First Years' teams by the end of the week" she then told me and I could almost sense the trepidation she was feeling.

"Un, but I'm not too worried; I'm sure you, Laura, and I will all be on the same team since we get along so well together, but nani worries me, is who the other two members are going to be" I noted to her as I frosted the last cinnamon roll.

"I know, that's nani is worrying me too; I just hope it isn't that Mitsune girl" Hinata replied as I boxed up the cinnamon rolls and I nodded my head in agreement.

"Gomen nasai, but I need to deliver these to my friends before class starts" I apologized as I left out of the kitchen with Hinata holding the door open for me.

"Do you think I could come with you; some of the other students are making me nervous" Hinata confessed her true reason for wishing to help out.

"Sure, but I feel it fitting to caution you: when you meet Luke, ignore the color of his eyes and focus on his voice" I told her with a smile.

"Does he have something wrong with his eyes?" she asked of me innocently.

"Iie, but he has onyx irises that on their own instill fear into those just meeting him; he even scared me when I first met him. But he's really very nice" I informed her as we entered the medical college building.

We soon found the cafeteria and I spotted Luke, Momoko, Ami, and Pazu sitting at a table together. Momoko looked up and waved to us before indicating for us to wait by the exit door for them since the cafeteria was so crowded.

"Hey, Kaarii-chan; how's Pâtissière school working out for you?" Ami inquired as she hugged me from behind since I still held the box of cinnamon rolls in my hands.

"Pretty well thus far" I lightly fibbed as I had iie wish to further discuss my one bad moment from yesterday. "Oh, and this is my new friend Hinata; she wanted to meet all of you."

Hinata smiled and gently waved until hers and Luke's eyes locked and I could see her smile starting to fade.

"A pleasure to meet you, Hinata-chan; any friend of Kaarii's is a friend of ours" Luke expressed with a genial smile which made Hinata smile a bit brighter.

"Arigato, Luke-kun, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance; Kaarii has told me a lot about you" she lightly fibbed as well.

"Hmm, do I smell fresh baked cinnamon rolls?" Momoko asked as she looked at the box in my hands.

"Hai, I made three for each of you" I replied with a light giggle; Momoko knew her sweets when she smelled them.

"Great, I'm almost famished; they really can't cook here" noted Pazu eagerly while indicating for us to follow them to another room.

"May I speak with you privately, Luke-kun?" I then inquired as Momoko took the box from me and began to lead the way towards the other room.

Luke and I separated from the group and went off to a quiet corner together where I told him all about nani had happened yesterday.

"I think you jumped the gun a bit there, Kaarii-chan. Josh wants to learn how to make ice cream cakes and the sort, not to stalk you" Luke told me honestly. "Besides, he cares about you and wouldn't do anything to purposely embarrass you."

"I know, but I'm just not…" I started to say.

"But you're not ready to look for a relationship just yet; I know that. But one can't tell one's heart how to feel and to wait until a certain point in time to feel a certain way for someone" Luke quietly lectured me and I glanced down to the floor.

"Part of me does want to trust Josh, but there's this part of me that keeps dwelling on the past in regards to you-know-nani and you-know-who that I just can't fully trust him" I replied with desperate tears in my eyes.

"I know, but not all guys are like that. Remember the things Josh has done for you in the period of time you've known him" he suggested and I began to recall the way he had helped to scare away the Gangrene Gang, the Rowdyruff Boys, and those three jerks at the beach; how he helped me to win Chico's gift; of how he ignored the offered hands of the guys on the boat to make sure I was safely on board and out of reach of all those sharks. "If that doesn't say that he cares about and…maybe even loves you, then I don't know nani does."

"You're right, Luke-kun; I owe him an apology. But I'm still uncertain as to how I feel about him" I confessed in all honesty while wiping a few tears from my eyes.

"Then you'll just have to wait until your heart tells you that you're ready. But in the meantime, I suggest you make up with Josh and to just let him know that you still want to want to wait for your heart to be ready before you can fully accept him" Luke offered me as he kissed me on the forehead before elevating my chin to make me look him in the eyes.

"Arigato, Oniichan" I expressed appreciatively as I hugged him in return before turning and calling to Hinata that it was time for us to return to school.

Later that evening, after classes, I went to meet Josh in the cafeteria when I found him holding an ice cream cake shaped like a heart and saying, 'Gomen nasai, Kaarii-chan' so as to present it to me. I read the cake, took it and set it down upon the table and hugged him.

"Can you forgive my arrogance and stupidity?" I asked of him.

"Of course I can; that's nani it means to love someone" he told me with a smile.

"I'll be honest with you, Josh-kun. A part of me is interested in you, but my heart isn't ready to fully trust just yet; can you give me some time?" I asked of him while rubbing one arm with my other hand.

"Sure, take all the time you need, Kaarii-chan" he replied as he kissed me on the cheek before turning to slice up the cake which we shared.

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><p><strong>Carly: Aw, such a sweet way to end the chapter!<strong>

**TCW: Arigato and arigato for the help with so much of this story, too.**

**Carly: Doitashimashite! So nani is in store for the next chapter?**

**Next time…**

**Kaoru: Rikiya and I are being granted chapter 2 of this section!**

**Rikiya: We're being taught by our own co-workers and supervisors.**

**Luke: But it seems someone now has a phobia of sharks.**

**TCW: All this and much, much more still to come.**

**Carly and Momoko: So, onegai, be sure to leave us some nice reviews!**

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><p><strong>*Author's Note: Okay, I know; Ice-Creamer is a funny sounding thing to call someone who makes ice cream treats. But in all honesty, there is no official title for someone of this type of career so this was the next best thing that actually fits the occupation and this I attained from an online search.<strong>


	39. Galeophobia

**Thanks some more for the great reviews, friends. This next chapter will be told through Kaoru's POV, so now, let's get started…**

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><p><strong>Galeophobia<strong>

I thought it was great that Rikiya and I were able to attend college so as to become marine biologists right here at the aquarium. Our manager even granted us access to the aquarium's personal library as well as to some of the specimens that they kept in a special room adjacent to the library. Of course, while studying I was still expected to work with Akihiro on a daily basis which was fine with me as he also liked to listen to me as I read to him from the books I would borrow.

However, one thing I soon learned about myself was how much I avoided the shark tanks. I could handle being around the rays, skates, and the whale sharks, but for some reason whenever I started to even get anywhere near the other sharks, my heart would begin racing, I would start sweating profusely, and the one time I was literally pushed in that direction, I had a panic attack so that I ran and hid myself in a closet near Akihiro's tank. None of this went unnoticed by our sensei-tachi/coworkers and our manager.

I was called into the manager's office where he sat me down beside his desk to talk with me, "Kaoru-chan, I wish to speak with you in regards to your behavior towards to the subject of sharks."

Right then and there, I felt myself begin to sweat and my heart began to race, but I forced myself to remain in place until he gestured me to sit behind his desk so as to look at the computer screen. He quietly clicked through the many pictures on his computer, from seals, dolphins, whales, penguins, whale sharks, fish, and I was fine. But when he clicked on the picture of a sand tiger, I hid under his desk.

"It's daijobu, Kaoru-chan; you've just confirmed my suspicion and I've turn off the photos" he told me gently with a half-smile and I crept back out of hiding.

"Nani is wrong with me? I've never been scared of sharks before and I can even handle looking at the whale sharks, but all of the others terrify me for some reason" I told my manager while sitting in his chair once again while he fanned me with a small booklet.

"Nani you have is galeophobia: the fear of sharks, or, to be more precise, predatory sharks. It probably stems from your bad experience while you were on vacation" he started to tell me.

"How do you know about that?" I asked of him in surprise.

"I spoke with Rikiya before I called you in here. It also explains why the last time you were being strongly encouraged towards the shark tanks that you screamed out in protest and ran to hide by Akihiro's tank. When it comes to predatory sharks, he's your strongest line of defense as far as your subconscious is concerned. I'm going to dismiss you from learning about most sharks for the time being, but I'd really like to see you work on this fear of yours in whatever means you feel is necessary. You'd probably even be terrified by a photo of a basking shark" he noted to me and I turned to look at him questioningly.

"Nani is a basking shark?" I asked of him and he turned his computer back on.

"Now, they look scary at first, but much like the whale shark and manta ray, they're a filter feeding species" he informed me before showing me a video of one; he was right, as soon as I saw the creature, I closed my eyes in fear despite nani he had told me. "It's daijobu, I turned it back off."

I then reached down and pulled out my cellphone and began to dial someone I knew would be able to assist me, "Oniichan; I need your help. Daijobu, I'll see you then."

"You called your oniisan?" my boss asked of me in curiosity.

"Not my biological one" I replied and he nodded his head in understanding; like so many others, he knew that I also referred to one of my best friends as his being my oniisan as well.

I was then dismissed to work with Akihiro until I was summoned to the front desk to meet up with Luke.

"Hey, Kaoru-chan, nani seems to be the problem?" Luke asked of me as he embraced me.

I silently led him to the back while indicating that I wanted this to remain a secret from the public. Once we were in with Akihiro I turned to face him and told him, "I need help dealing with my galeophobia."

He was silent for a moment while he seemed to be recalling nani the word meant when he finally said, "Ah, the fear of predatory sharks; I didn't know you were galeophobic."

"I didn't either, but lately, every time I get near their tanks, my heart starts racing, I begin sweating heavily, and, the one time they tried to push me in that direction, I had a panic attack and ran to hide in that closet. My boss spoke with me today and he surmised my condition and requested that I find a way of dealing with my phobia or I wouldn't be able to graduate" I told him in desperation.

"Does Rikiya know?" he asked quietly.

"Hai, my boss already surmised my condition but got an even stronger hunch after Rikiya had told him about nani had happened while we were on vacation. That was when he called me to his office and sat me behind his computer to show me some pictures. I was fine with most of them, but when he showed me a picture of a sand tiger, I hid under his desk" I told Luke, feeling rather embarrassed.

"And that was when his suspicion was confirmed. Daijobu, I'll help you, but you really have to want this in order for it to work" he told me and I nodded my head in agreement.

"Very well, we'll start with something easy: photographs and/or drawings" Luke told me as we headed for the library.

He sat me down and began to recall many pictures of some species that I had never even heard about, like the horn shark, which was barely the size of Luke's hand, the angel shark, as well as many others. He then gradually began to build me up to some of the more intimidating species, like the nurse shark and a few rarely encountered species like the mega-mouth and goblin sharks, that latter of which made me chuckle at its appearance.

"You're doing excellent, Kaoru-chan; but these next few are the ones that affect the galeophobic the most. Now, before I turn the page, I want you to remember that first, we're right here on dry land, I'm right here with you, and these are just photographs" he instructed me and I nodded my head in understanding as I took in a deep breath and purposely looked up at my surroundings so as to remind myself of where I really was.

He then turned the page to a blue shark and I felt my muscles starting to tighten up; Luke must have sensed this because he set graced his hand over the photo to show me that it couldn't harm me. I then took the initiative and turned the page for him to see a basking shark with its tooth-less mouth agape and I stopped to look at the picture closely. My interest was piqued by this creature and so I made a mental note to look more into it later on.

"Hard to believe that when I first saw a video of this thing in my manager's office I was scared of it" I noted feeling quite ashamed of myself.

"It is an intimidating species to look upon at first, but they really are harmless" Luke noted to me as I turned the page to see a great white and leapt up from my seat to grab onto Luke.

"Turn the page; turn the page; turn the page!" I pleaded with him in rapid succession.

"Okay, we'll come back to that one a little later" he told me as he did indeed turn the page for me to a picture of a black-tip reef shark.

I then requested a break and Luke readily agreed as he closed the book we had been using. We went for a walk together, though I remained rather quiet as I was concentrating on my breathing so as to calm down.

"I don't get it, oniichan; I've never been scared of sharks before and I'm even able to deal with the majority of the species, so why am I so terrified of the others?" I asked of him in frustration.

"Nani you are afraid of are the species that are more prone to attack people given the right circumstances. You're one bad experience has left an emotional scar on your subconscious mind that it makes you want to run; it's called 'Fight or Flight'. If you can't fight it, your subconscious mind says to run or take flight; it's something that has been instilled into the human psyche since the beginning of time" he explained to me patiently and I turned to look into the dolphin tank in silence.

"I guess not being able to do 'it' underwater doesn't help matters either" I then noted to him while secretly referencing to our transformation from our normal selves into the Powerpuffs Z.

"That could also have a great deal to do with it; but galeophobia is more the fear of the typical predatory shark _form_ than species specific. I mean, take a look at these little guys; it's hard to be afraid of them given the fact that they are so small and don't necessarily have the full typical shark form" he replied as he led me to a tank with some zebra, bamboo, and leopard shark contained within.

"Un, but if I don't overcome this fear soon, I won't be able to pass that part of the exam and thus fail; I really want to become a successful marine biologist" I replied to Luke as I turned to look up him.

"Would you like to try looking at the other sharks here at the aquarium with me; I'll be right behind you" he offered and I nodded my head in agreement to at least try.

We further entered the part of the aquarium known as Shark Bay when Luke noticed one of the marine biologists with a small pool sitting on a cart and led me over to it. Inside the pool was a baby lemon shark and, for some reason or another, it didn't scare or concern me in the least as we were granted permission to pet the small shark.

"Not so intimidating when they're small, is it?" Luke asked of me with a smile as we were washing our hands off with some hand sanitizer.

"You're right" I agreed with a light smile until he turned me to face the sharks that terrified me the most.

"Take a deep breath…now, let it out and listen to me for a moment. You have seen these up close before at the aquarium where you acquired Akihiro from; you weren't scared then and you have nothing to fear of them now, daijobu?" he instructed me and I swallowed a lump in my throat.

I looked at them for some ten seconds while squeezing Luke's arm tightly before turning to bury my face in his shoulder; I just couldn't do it.

"Daijobu, just keep your eyes closed and I'll take you out of here" Luke told me gently as he led me away. "You can open your eyes now; I think Akihiro is concerned about you."

I looked up and noticed that we were indeed in front of Akihiro's tank and he was looking at me strangely.

"I wish I could do better with dealing with my fear" I noted to Luke sadly while making hand signals to Akihiro so as to perform different movements in the water much to the amusement of some children standing beside us.

"Well, you did a whole lot better than I expected" he replied as he indicated that he wanted to go up to the feeding stations of the aquarium.

We quietly strolled around the normally unseen parts of the aquarium and we soon approached one of my sensei-tachi as he was feeding the whale sharks while a couple of others were feeding the manta rays off to the side.

"Such impressive creatures" I said aloud in amazement as I stared down at the giant sharks.

"Hard to believe there was once a species of shark that got even bigger than these" Luke noted to me and I turned to look up at him in surprise.

"There was?" I asked of him.

"Sure, it lived a very long time ago, but is extinct now. It was called Carcharodon Megalodon and reached astronomical proportions; we're supposed to be getting a set of fossilized jaws from the creature in the next couple of weeks" Sensei told me and I swallowed hard.

"Was it also a filter feeder?" I asked while silently praying that it was.

"Iie, it was much more like a great white, only about ten times larger in the largest of the two species and fed on cetaceans, pinnipeds, turtles, and whatever else it could fit in its jaws" Sensei then told me and I felt my heart rate quicken to the point of making want to faint.

"Fortunately, it's long since been rendered extinct due to changes in water temperature, probably during the last ice age" Sensei then noted to me and I breathed a heavy sigh of relief.

"Come on, Kaoru-chan, I want to see some of the other tanks" Luke then said as he led me on to some of the other tanks.

"Wait, I…I can't continue any further" I called to him as I realized that we were getting closer and closer to the other shark tanks.

"Why, nani is the matter?" Luke asked innocently.

"Because we're getting closer to the shark tanks" I whined to him.

"We are; I thought they were back in the other direction" he noted to me and I pointed to the sign on the wall which read, 'CAUTION: Shark Tanks'. "I see, well as long as we're in the neighborhood, may as well be neighborly and say 'konnichiwa'."

I stubbornly sat down on the floor and crossed my arms in defiance of him while pouting. I knew this was acting childishly, but I was petrified of going any further. Luke just shrugged his shoulders and continued on his way and I began to feel not only alone, but even more concerned.

After two minutes, I heard a loud splash and looked up in shock before calling out, "Luke…Oniichan? Are you daijobu?"

There was iie reply and I began to get even more concerned. I stood up and, despite a strong part of me screaming against it, I continued further. I saw iie sign of him anywhere and I began to move faster towards the shark tanks. I glanced down into the first one and saw nothing but the small zebra, bamboo, and leopard sharks, so I kept going. The next tank I came upon had some sand sharks in it, but still iie sign of Luke anywhere. The next tank I came upon was the nurse sharks and I thought I saw them feeding on something and so ran over to stare down in the water in concern before breathing a deep sigh of relief; it was only a basket of fish. As soon as the basket was empty they all swam off to different parts of the tank though one came up to look up at me.

"This is going to sound completely nekkyo, but…have you seen a rather big guy come by here?" I asked of the shark and it only turned to swim to the other side of the tank. "Either it thinks I'm not worthy of speaking to it, or it's telling me that he went that way…or maybe I've just completely lost my mind."

I continued on further and soon found some of the larger species and still I didn't see anything until I peered into the water; I thought I saw a body down there.

Kicking my water socks off, I pulled my re-breather out of my pocket (it was company policy that we carry our re-breathers wherever we went for just in case of an emergency) and dove into the water while feeling frantic. One of the sharks, a lemon shark, came up towards me and just looked at me as though I had gone completely nekkyo and I thought for a moment that maybe I had. I just turned and glared at the shark and it went on its way. I approached the bottom of the tank and realized that nani I had thought was a body, was another lemon shark, but had apparently died. I then looked up towards the glass window and noticed many people looking and pointing at me. Amongst the lot, was Luke standing there and scratching his head and my boss looking at me with a mildly crossed look on his face.

Another lemon shark began to approach me and only gave me a mild nudge with its snout before continuing on its way while I lifted the body of the dead shark up and began to swim back up towards the surface.

When I reached the surface, I rose up out of the water while holding onto the deceased shark and many others began to take the body from me while both Luke and my boss reached down to help me up out of the water.

"You know the next time you want to pull another stunt like that, onegai, be sure that it's after hours, wakai josei!" my employer shouted before walking over to those who were putting the dead shark onto a cart to take it away.

"I've heard of overcoming your fears, but you really take the cake" Luke said to me while placing a gentle hand upon my shoulder.

I turned around and began punching Luke in the chest while screaming at the top of my lungs, "You baka! Do you have any idea as to how worried I was about you?! I thought you'd fallen in and went to find and save you!"

"Nani would ever give you that idea?" Rikiya asked as he came up to us.

It was then that we heard another loud splash and we turned to see basket of fish being dropped into another tank so as to feed the hammerhead sharks contained within.

"I was going to circle back around to get you, but Rikiya wanted to show me an injured seal that was being brought in" Luke then confessed to me despite how much I was crying into his chest and getting him wet.

"I've got to hand it to you, though Kaoru-chan; you really know how to make an impression on our visitors…not to mention the sharks that were in that tank. They'd been acting strangely all morning and had even missed their feed, but when you went down to pull out this one, they seemed to think you were there just for that purpose" my manager said after calming down a bit.

"So nani did it die from?" I then asked once I had settled down.

"Old age; we've had this one almost since the day the aquarium opened and it was just a baby lemon shark then" replied one of the other men and I nodded my head in acceptance of it.

"Of those sharks, how many was I in danger of?" I then asked seriously.

"Any of them are large enough to attack a person, but since they have an issue with the smell of their own dead, they were willing to leave you alone. Not to mention that lemons are typically docile unless provoked into attacking" Rikiya told me gently and again I just nodded my head in silence.

Luke returned to school after that and I was dismissed for the rest of the day. But early the following morning, after I had just finished working with Akihiro, I was requested to help out in removing the sharks from the one tank so that it could be drained and thoroughly cleaned. We then moved them all to a temporary holding tank where Rikiya and I helped in making sure they were acclimated and doing fine before heading off to get cleaned up.

When we were done and I was heading back to Akihiro's tank, I paused to notice a little girl sitting off to one side and crying heavily.

"Nani is the matter?" I asked of her despite how wet I was.

"My family went into the shark tanks and I'm scared of sharks" she told me with a sniffle.

"You know, until yesterday, so was I" I confessed to her.

"You were; how did you get over it?" she asked me curiously.

"I thought a friend of mine had fallen into the water and I became so concerned about him, that I forgot my fear and dove in after him. Of course, it proved a false alarm, but still, I overcame my fear because iie matter how much sharks scare me, losing one of my friends scares me even more" I told her with a light smile and she nodded her head in agreement before jumping up and running in to catch up with her family.

When I got back to Akihiro's area, I went to start getting changed when I stopped to notice an oyster shell sitting by my clothes. Picking the thing up, I opened it to find a silver ring with an emerald sitting in the center and surrounded by many small pearls. I gasped in amazement when Rikiya approached me and, getting down on one knee, asked, "Would you do me the honor of being mine and mine alone?"

"Hai, of course I would!" I replied excitedly as I hugged him before he slipped the ring onto my finger; I couldn't have been happier.

"I'm thinking of a nice wedding right here at the aquarium, right beside Akihiro's tank, just as soon as we graduate" he told me with a bright smile.

"That sounds like a wonderful idea to me" I replied as I hugged and kissed him passionately; even Akihiro made a happy chirp that had both of us giggling in excitement.

I finished changing my clothes and, when I exited the changing area, was greeted to the applause of all of our coworkers as they were smiling brightly at both of me and Rikiya.

Later that evening, after work, we met up with all of our friends at the lab where we made our announcement and were greatly congratulated by all with many of them wanting to gaze down upon the ring on my finger. Though, off to one side, I noticed Luke and Momoko sitting quietly together. I know it's a bit early, but I do hope that someday soon, Luke will pose his question to her.

Momoko's POV

Luke walked me and Kuriko home in silence. Upon our arrival, Kuriko went on inside while Luke and I shared a long, passionate kiss together. He then gave me and my parents a polite wave and left to return home.

"Are you ever going to ask me, Luke?" I asked of him while sitting in front of my window and looking up at the moon after I had taken my shower.

I then released a sigh, closed my window, and turned in for the night to dream of me and Luke being a married couple.

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><p><strong>Carly: Now that was a crazy chapter!<strong>

**TCW: Hai, quite.**

**Carly: So nani is in store for the next chapter?**

**Next time…**

**Momoko: You get to spend a day with me, Luke, Ami, and Pazu, though mostly me.**

**Ami: Don't get cheeky, Momoko-chan.**

**Pazu: I don't think her cheeks are nani she's got to worry about.**

**TCW: All this and more coming soon!**

**Carly and Momoko: Meanwhile, be sure to leave us some nice reviews, onegai!**


	40. Boy Troubles

**For all of your nice reviews, I thank you. For this next chapter we will rejoin Momoko as she must deal with some…**

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><p><strong>Boy Troubles<strong>

To say my own career path was running smoothly would be a major over-exaggeration. But my problem wasn't so much my classes or sensei-tachi; it was the guys who were also attending the college that were giving me a hard way to go. To make matters worse, was the fact that Luke was rarely ever there to offer me any kind of help and, when he was, he always seemed distracted.

My first day of school was the usual orientation but each class had its own hazards. After meeting a few of my classmates, I heard the familiar voice of a former sempai as he made the same typical snide remarks about me to another boy and when I turned around to sound off at him, he let his voice trail off.

"Well, well, since when did you become quite the shapely lady?" he asked of me while staring at me lustfully.

"Humph!" I replied while snubbing him angrily.

"Oh, come on; don't be like that, Momoko-chan" he said while trying to act sweetly towards me and putting a hand upon my arm which I firmly slapped away.

"Kindly keep your hands to yourself, baka" I reprimanded him heatedly.

"Hey, you practically threw yourself at me before; why the sudden change?" he asked as he tried to run a hand through my hair but again I swatted his hand away.

"I said to keep your hands to yourself! I have already have a boyfriend" I told him quite loudly as our sensei entered the room and chased him back to his desk for me.

My next class and I ran into another former sempai and even he began hitting on me until I shot his own words right back at him, "Go away; you're annoying!"

He shot a surprised look at me and I just firmly turned back to my computer to get started on my assignment. Again, my sensei chased him away and I smiled up at her appreciatively when she came back over to check on me.

I was standing in the hallway while in front of my locker as I was getting ready for my next class when I overheard these two guys talking behind me, "Nani do you think of her; a large B or a small C?"

"Are you nekkyo; she's a good mid C" the other boy replied and I quickly got the idea as to nani they were referring to: my chest.

I then firmly slapped both of them as I screamed, "Hentaisha-tachi!"

I snatched up my books, closed and locked my locker, and shot both guys, who were on their o-shiri-tachi and grasping their cheeks in surprise, a dirty look before storming off to the cafeteria for lunch.

"Hey, Momoko-chan, I've been hearing that you've been having boy-troubles; want to talk about it?" Ami asked as she sat down beside me.

I told Ami all that had happened and even she was nodding her head in agreement that my actions were appropriate for each situation.

"I'd feel a whole lot better if Luke were here" I then noted to Ami while mildly sulking.

"I know and he sends his apology for not being able to remain at your side" Ami replied while giving my shoulder a friendly squeeze.

However, one thing that didn't go without notice, were the four guys standing together at the back of the cafeteria and seemed to be planning some kind of course of action. Pazu soon joined us, but not before shooting a dirty look at the group of boys who were looking in our direction.

"Nani is the deal with those baka-tachi?" he asked of us and I told him nani all had happened that morning. "Great and Luke doesn't share any of our classes. I'd watch my back if I were you, Momoko-chan; those guys are up to iie good where you're concerned."

"Well my next class starts in a few minutes, so I had best get a move on" Ami noted as she finished her bottle of water while Pazu returned her first aid kit to her.

"See you later, this afternoon, Ami-chan" Pazu and I bid her and she bowed to us in reply before she took off running for her next class.

"When is your next class, Momoko-chan?" Pazu then asked of me.

"Not for another hour" I replied while looking at my watch.

"Mine is in about half an hour, so I'll stay with you until then" he replied while watching the four guys together as they split up and headed for the four doors to the cafeteria.

Pazu was getting ready to head off for his next class when he summoned someone over and I turned to see Luke entering the cafeteria. He quickly filled Luke in on nani was going on and he nodded his head in comprehension.

Luke then sat down across the table from me and barely looked up from his eating his lunch when I detected the four guys now standing behind me. Luke looked up briefly from eating and glared at them and they all quickly backed off from me while holding up their hands in a placating manner.

Looking at his watch, Luke rose up from the table and disposed of his tray before returning to stand beside me as he offered a hand to help me up and I asked of him, "Are you mad at me for some reason, Luke-kun?"

"Iie, I've just got a lot on my mind right now" he replied with a sigh; I used the honorific of '-kun' so he knew I was concerned for my status with him. "And whatever happened to calling me, 'Luke-chan'?"

"I didn't know if I had the right to address you as such anymore" I replied while keeping my eyes low.

Reaching down, he took hold of my chin and elevated my head to look him in the eyes as he replied, "You will always have that right" and then he kissed me on the lips while placing something upon my hip.

"My sword…but I'm not…" I started to tell him that it was against the rules but he silenced me by placing the tip of his index finger to my lips.

"You're allowed a form of protection and self-defense" he told me as he took my hand and led me to my next class. "Forgive me if I've been distracted lately."

"Can you at least talk about it?" I asked of him as we passed between the four boys who looked at us in surprise.

"Iie, not yet" he replied to me and I decided to let it go.

Ami's POV

I arrived at my next class right on time and set my first aid kit upon my work station in preparation. Sensei entered the classroom and, after choosing a volunteer, we were then instructed on the procedures for applying first aid depending upon the situation.

I was called upon first and knelt down beside the patient to begin assessing their condition. After receiving the patient's information, I opened my first aid kit and was forced to give pause as I noticed a small box inside that hadn't been there before. I decided to ignore it for now and to get started on helping the patient; cleaning the wound and applying the necessary bandage to the injury.

"Very good, Utonium-chan, but it is very important to know where all of your supplies are in a first aid kit so that a momentary pause isn't necessary" Sensei instructed me.

"Gomen nasai, but I noticed this box in my kit that wasn't there this morning and it took me by surprise" I replied and even she came up to look at the box as I opened it and gasped in surprise.

It was a silver ring with a blue diamond surrounded by small sapphires and a small note was attached to it which read, "If you are wearing this after school is finished today, I will know that you have accepted my proposal and shall thus become one of the happiest men in the world – Pazu."

"If you don't put this thing on right this second, then you're a bigger baka than I ever gave you credit for" noted Sensei to me as I took the ring from her and slipped it onto my hand while smiling brightly and with tears of joy in my eyes.

I was then congratulated by all of my classmates before we got back to work.

Momoko's POV

The rest of the day went rather smoothly, or as smoothly as it could since I was still being tailed by those same four boys, but at a distance. After school was done for the day, I was met by Ami who showed me her engagement ring. I gave her a big congratulatory hug and together we met up with Pazu who noticed his ring upon Ami's hand and smiled to her warmly as they tearfully hugged each other in pure joy while I stood a little distance away smiling at them while quietly wondering when and if Luke would ever ask me.

When Luke caught up with us, Ami showed him her engagement ring and he congratulated her with a smile without paying any attention to the way I was looking at him in wonderment. We then decided to head over to the lab so they could share their good news with everyone else, but Luke quietly slipped away.

I spotted Isamu and so went to talk with her, "Is there something going on with Luke that he doesn't wish to discuss with me?"

"I'm not sure; why do you ask?" she replied curiously.

I then went into detail on nani all had gone on that day and even she seemed puzzled by it. So I went to talk with the Professor since he was Luke's ojisan.

"I wish I could be of help to you, Momoko-chan, but Luke doesn't confide in me" he replied and I was beginning to feel really downhearted at that point.

It was then that I noticed Kuriko was also missing and so I called home to inquire as to where she was.

"Oh, she's been having some difficulty with her back and so Luke's giving her a massage right now" Mom told me and I breathed a small sigh of relief.

I then excused myself and left for home where I found Kuriko now sitting in the o-furo to soak up the hot water; I'd just missed Luke.

"I wouldn't worry about it, oneechan" Kuriko told me while I was also washing up so that I could join her.

"I know, but he's been so melancholic lately that it concerns me" I told her as I settled into the water beside her and letting her lean against my shoulder to get a little rest.

"Have you asked him about it?" she asked of me with a yawn.

"Hai, but he just said that he was a little distracted and left it at that" I replied as I pulled her up into my lap so that she wouldn't slip under the water in the event she should fall asleep.

Kuriko was sound asleep in my arms when Mom entered the furoba to check up on us and so helped me in getting her out of the o-furo, dried off and in her pajamas.

After helping Mom in putting Kuriko to bed, I headed off for my room where I called Kaarii up on the phone to talk to her, "Hai, everyone just keeps telling that he's distracted, but not nani it is that's distracting him."

"Well, knowing Luke, it must be something important" Kaarii replied into the phone; I could hear an electric mixer in the background.

"I know, but his behavior is concerning me; I hate it when he's melancholic like this since I never know nani to expect. Remember back to when Mojo broke his sword? His melancholic demeanor was so much that I thought he was going to leave back to the States" I told her while trying to keep the tears from falling.

"But he didn't leave, Momoko-chan; he's still here at your side and I'm certain that even now, he will remain faithful to you" she said in a placating manner followed by the sound of a wooden spoon being gently tapped on the side of a glass bowl.

"I do hope you're right, Kaarii-chan. Gomen nasai for disturbing you" I replied while wiping tears from my eyes and cheeks.

"I already told you: you are not disturbing me; I know how to multi-task" she replied comfortingly; little did I know that she had a tiny assistant helping her.

"Arigato; oyasumi to tanoshii yume, Kaarii-chan" I told her appreciatively.

"Doitashimashite; oyasumi to amai yume, Momoko-chan" she replied as she also bid me a good night and we soon hung up our phones.

Washing my face off, I then slid in between the sheets of my bed and soon drifted off to sleep, only to be plagued by nightmares of either Luke breaking it off with me or of the world around us breaking us apart. My sleep was interrupted the following morning by the annoying buzz of my alarm clock and I clicked it off before climbing out of bed to get dressed before joining my family at the breakfast table.

Kaarii's POV

I was walking through some of the shops of town, Clementina hiding in my shirt pocket, doing a little window shopping before classes started that afternoon when I noticed Luke exiting out of a jewelry store with a tired look on his face and so walked up to stand beside him while he yawned and stretched his arms.

"Nani to tell me nani you are doing in a jewelry store at this hour and why you're not at Momoko's side right now?" I asked of him loudly and practically startling him; he was a lot more tired than I had originally realized as his senses were usually as sharp as a cat's.

"Kaarii-chan; you scared the heck out of me" he exclaimed while sending me a tired smile.

"Gomen nasai; are you going to answer my question or am I going to have to tickle it out of you?" I asked of him smartly; I couldn't fight him, but, given his current demeanor, I knew I could outmaneuver him in a tickle attack.

"Do you promise to keep it a secret?" he asked of me and I eagerly agreed; he then turned me to the door of the jewelry store and we entered together.

He showed me his big secret and I happily agreed to keep it between us as we left back out of the shop, "But you realize that the next time Momoko calls me up in tears about you're not paying her any attention that it's going to be extremely difficult to keep it a secret."

"Nani; she called you last night in tears?" Luke asked of me in concern; he must have been really bothered by this information as he iie longer showed any signs of being tired.

"Hai, I mean, I can understand why you wish to keep this great secret from her, but since you've been so tired, she's mistaking it for melancholy and thinks you're dissatisfied with her or something" I cautioned him.

"I'll give her part of the answer when I see her in school today" he told me and I nodded my head in agreement.

"Nani are you going to tell her so that I know nani I can and can't tell her?" I inquired of him.

"That I've got a part-time job now and that, due to the late hours, I've just been a little tired lately; it's the bigger part of my secret that must remain as such until everything is ready" he replied to me and I nodded my head in agreement.

I rose up on tip-toe and kissed him on the cheek and he returned one to me, but on the forehead and we then turned to head off to school.

"That Momoko person is a lucky girl to have him for a boyfriend" Clementina noted to me from my pocket.

"Hai, she is" I replied while walking back to school.

"So do you think you and Josh-san will ever be that close?" she then asked of me.

"Clementina..." I started to say to her in a warning manner.

"I know, I know...mind my own business about that subject" she finished for me and I just nodded my head in confirmation.

Momoko's POV

I sat down in the cafeteria at lunch time to eat my sparse lunch; whenever I was feeling melancholic, I ate less. Ami was sitting beside me trying to get me to share her large lunch with Pazu across from us and trying to encourage me to at least eat his cup of pudding, but I paid them little heed.

"Then would you at least do me the honor of helping me with my bento?" a familiar voice asked of me as its owner sat down on my other side.

I turned to look up at Luke as he pulled my head down to lean upon his shoulder while he rest his head against mine as he said, "Gomen nasai, Momoko-chan; I never meant to upset you. I've just taken a part-time job and the hours are late so that I've been tired lately."

I made iie reply as I snuggled up against him while lightly crying against him, though more from relief than sadness.

"I thought you were going to leave me or something" I confessed to him.

"There are too many people who will want to have my head on a platter if I ever try anything like that; besides, only the biggest, dumbest, most nekkyo baka would ever want to part ways with you and I love you too blessed much to even try" he told me while slipping one hand under my shirt to play with my navel.

I was soon giggling and blushing deeply when he extracted his hand and together we finished his bento together before he asked of me, "Would you care to be my date this weekend?"

"Actually, if you're not too tired, would you like to accompany my family and me on a trip to an onsen this weekend; Kuriko is also inviting Ken" I replied as I leaned my head back against his chest.

"I'll be honored to, even if I have to drink five energy drinks to attend, I will be there with you" he replied and I smiled up at him brighter before we shared a passionate kiss together.

"You two are going to be late for your next class if you don't hurry" one of the cooks informed us and we took off running for our next classes.

I was just about to reach for the door to the next class when Kouchou-sensei called out to me and so I turned to look at him in surprise.

"You know that we have rules against carrying weapons of any sort while in school" he told me firmly.

"Hai, but…" I started to speak in my own defense, but he wouldn't hear any of it as he removed my sword from my side.

"Get to my office right now, wakai josei" he said firmly and I did as he instructed, though dejectedly.

I entered his office and heard him close the door and locked it as the four guys from the other day came out of hiding. Kouchou-sensei then began to clear his desk off and I realized nani was going on.

"Tasuke, Luke-chan, tasuke!" I shouted out in full voice while clamping my eyes shut.

"That's right scream; it makes this much more enjoyable" one of them jeered into my ear while holding onto me from behind and forcibly fondling me.

The door exploded into the office and knocked out two of the other guys as a fierce voice said, "Not as much fun as ripping your faces off is going to be for me."

"You're defenseless, nani harm can you do to me?" inquired the guy holding onto me in a snide manner.

Luke then unsheathed his claws and I heard the guy swallow hard as he began to shiver nervously.

"Hey, Momoko-chan; do you remember that one dance I showed you called 'The Stomp'?" Luke asked of me and I quickly got the message and stomped hard onto the guy's foot and digging my heel into the top of his foot as he screamed out in pain before retreating to the safety of Luke's arms.

We then turned to glare at Kouchou-sensei in reproach as he nervously stood off to one side and visibly shaking in fear until Luke said firmly, "We're awaiting an explanation."

"Sumimasen, but their parents are highly influential in this school! When those boys said that they would tell their parents to quit funding this school in the event I didn't help them to get Akatsutsumi-chan, I became concerned about the school's welfare and so agreed. I never wanted this to happen, but I was thinking of the school" he tearfully explained after dropping to his knees and prostrating himself before us.

"Momoko-chan…I want you to return to class and tell your sensei nani has just happened here and take this voice recorder with you as evidence" Luke ordered me as I took a voice recorder which he extracted from his pocket into my hand and left out the door.

"Nani are you going to do?" I asked of him as I paused in the doorway.

"I'm going to make sure these guys don't go anywhere until the police arrive" Luke replied, but judging by the look in his eyes, he had other things in mind.

"I'm coming back after I let sensei know nani is happening" I told him before continuing on my way to class; it was my way of telling him not to do anything brash or that could land him in deep trouble.

Luke's POV

After Momoko left the room I heaved a frustrated sigh before telling the five other men, "You're lucky she said she's coming back otherwise I'd gut the lot of you and set you all up on the flagpole to display your sorry carcasses to the general public. So when she does come back, I expect to hear you expressing your appreciation of her kindness in spite of the nani you were about to do to her."

"Hai, Luke-sama" I heard the four guys reply while Kouchou-sensei remained on his knees sobbing his eyes out while repeating that he was doing it for the school.

Momoko did indeed come back and the police were just behind her as she entered the room.

While being arrested, the four guys told her, "Arigato for your kindness in keeping Luke-sama from killing us."

Momoko's POV

"Burn in Hell" I told them firmly while wrapping my arms around Luke as I began to cry into his chest.

"After today, more than likely" replied the four guys replied simultaneously as they were being led out the door.

"Arigato for keeping me from losing my temper on them, Momoko-chan" Luke told me as he held onto me a little tighter.

"I don't care nani happens to them, but I don't want to lose you" I replied, though a bit muffled as I had my face buried into his jacket.

Kouchou-sensei was heavily interrogated and he sang like a bird to the police. He was fired that evening by the college administrators and a new kouchou-sensei, a woman, was appointed to the position that night. As for my would-be attackers, they received two years in prison under charges of coercion which really frustrated me as I felt that they should have gotten a lot more for attempted rape, but the judge dismissed that part of the charges being filed against them as they had barely laid a finger on me. I sounded off about being molested by one of the boys, but the judge threatened to have me fined in contempt of court so I had to remain quiet while he barely slapped the boys on the wrist for this.

"Gomen nasai, Momoko-chan, but you can't win them all. But we must take nani little victories when they are granted us and those boys will never bother you again" Kaarii's father apologized to me after court had been dismissed and we left for home.

Luke allowed me to release my pent-up emotions into his shoulder when I got home that evening until I cried myself to sleep in his arms.

I was sitting at my computer the next day when someone entered the classroom and gently tapped me on the shoulder and I turned to look up in surprise as my sword was returned to me by our new kouchou-sensei.

A little while later an announcement was made that, effective immediately, a new set of rules was set in place and that the new list would be posted up in the hallways. After class, I went to read some of the new changes and, topping the list, was the right for women to defend themselves by any means necessary with the only exemption was that iie firearms were allowed on the premises. We were allowed to carry pepper spray, tasers, and bladed weapons up to iie bigger than a mini-buster sword and of the latter, they had to remain in their sheaths unless we were being harassed and/or accosted by male sensei-tachi and/or male classmates.

I then proceeded on to the cafeteria where I found many of my schoolmates, the tables pulled aside and a large red carpet spread on the floor, standing on the perimeter while Ami instructed me to transform into my alternate identity.

Doing as I had been instructed, she then told me to remove my shoes and socks so as to proceed to the center of the carpet where a thick cushion was waiting for me to kneel upon it. Soon a procession of my teammates entered the room and paused to surround me while staring down at me with hard expressions on their faces.

Buttercup and Blast approached to remove my vest from me followed by Bullet and Brain who removed my gauntlets. Needless to say, I was beginning to get a little bit concerned, which escalated when Barrage and Butch approached to take away my skirt while Berry and Boomer erected a circular curtain rod above me and Boomer drew the curtain around me as Berry removed the rest of my uniform from me.

I was about to ask nani was going on but Berry signaled for me to remain silent as Bubbles entered through the small opening in the curtain and proceeded to dress me in a red kimono before they both signaled for me to kneel back down upon the cushion.

The curtain was then pulled back and the curtain rod taken back down and there in front of me was Blade in a black kimono and a small wooden box in his arms. Kneeling down before me, he opened the box to display the contents and I gasped in surprise as I saw the red mini-buster sword contained within; except for the color and size, it was an exact replica of the sword that I had fashioned for him. It even had two small, unfinished, ruby hearts on the hand-guard

I took out the sword and, much the way he did, I sliced the box in half, watching in surprise as it cut just as well as his full-sized buster sword. I started to express my appreciation for the new sword, but he silenced me by placing the tip of his index finger to my lips. Reaching into his pocket, he then took hold of my hand and slipped a silver ring with a polished ruby surrounded by ten pink pearls.

I couldn't hold back any longer and I tearfully hugged him as Bridgette and Bash entered the cafeteria and silently placed an ice cream cake upon a table, sliced it up, and humbly bowed to us.

Bridgette then offered me the first slice and all waited for me to taste it and I smiled brightly as I savored the wonderful flavors. I then let Luke try a taste and even he smiled widely as he, too, savored the flavors. My first fork was then taken and two gold ones were offered to us and together, Luke and I linked to share another bite together before offering the third and final bite to one another.

"I'd say that's mission accomplished" I then heard my mother announce from the doorway and all erupted in a thunderous applause followed by many congratulating us on our happy engagement.

To make everyone even happier, Luke and I shared a long, passionate kiss together which was answered with much more applause and even a few whistles from those gathered. My uniform was then returned to me and I agreed to change clothes after the festivities were over.

Once the party had died down and many were heading off for home, while Josh and Kaarii returned to their dorms, Blade set my new sword upon my side and, much to our surprise, it fused with my yo-yo so that now it had a long tassel on the hilt. We smiled to each other and shared another kiss before we returned to our normal forms. He then led me down to the furoba since I still needed to take a bath and we bathed together per my parents' suggestion. While sitting in the hot water of the o-furo, I started to drift off to sleep in his arms.

"Ten pearls, may they represent each decade of our lives that we share together" Luke told me while looking at the ring upon my hand. "You know, everyone had a very hard time keeping my two secrets from you, especially when you kept tearing up in front of them."

"So the sword and the ring are the reason for the late hours at your part-time job?" I asked of him.

"Hai, and even getting the special arrangements made for me to perform that little ceremony in the middle of the school day" he replied with a bright smile.

"I can't wait until we're married" I told him as I kissed him again.

"That makes two of us, but I'm afraid it will have to wait until after college" Luke replied as we climbed out of the water to begin getting dressed.

He then carried me up to my room and put me to bed with a kiss. He then quietly slipped out of my door and left for home and I fell asleep to dream of the day we would be married.

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><p><strong>Carly: So who do we have left to get engaged?<strong>

**TCW: Kuriko/Ken; Isamu/Kanta; Kaarii…Josh? We're still waiting to see if Kaarii will ever trust him completely before making any final decision on their pairing.**

**Carly: Good point; so nani is in store for the next chapter?**

**Next time…**

**Momoko: You will be rejoining Kaarii and Josh for the next chapter!**

**Kaarii: The new teams are announced and we get to meet three new Sweets Spirits.**

**Mysterious Character: You will be mine again, Kaarii-chan! Or I shall destroy you.**

**Josh: Not if I have anything to say about it.**

**TCW: Hey, behave yourself until the next chapter or I'll have you coming out wearing a tutu!**

**M.C.: Hai, TCW-sama.**

**Carly and Momoko: All this and more coming soon, but only if you make sure to leave us some nice reviews!**


	41. Kaarii's Memories:  Bitter & Sweet

**Thank you all for the many grand reviews! Note: For this next chapter, I will once again be borrowing an original character from cakedecorator (with her permission of course) by the name of Daisuke; this is the first of his two appearances. I now turn your attention to our regularly scheduled program…**

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><p><strong>Kaarii's Memories: Bitter &amp; Sweet<strong>

I awoke early the following morning to the sound of my digital alarm clock buzzing and turned to both click it off and to bid Clementina a good morning when I noticed she was missing. Giving pause to consider this, I then remembered I had unintentionally forgotten to retrieve her from the cabinet in which I had locked her so as to transform into Bridgette for Luke's and Momoko's engagement ceremony last night.

Shooting up out of bed, I quickly dressed and ran off for the kitchen where I pulled the cabinet door open to find Clementina, her arms crossed, a scowl on her face, and tapping one foot in annoyance.

"You're mad at me aren't you, Clementina-chan?" I asked of her concernedly.

"Hmm, let's see: you shoved me into a cabinet, locked it so that I couldn't get out, left me here all night long, and now I have a stiff back from trying to sleep on the hard wood bottom of the cabinet; now nani would ever give you the idea that I was angry with you?" she asked of me in a light tone that was dripping with sarcasm.

"Gomen nasai, I didn't mean to forget. I got home late from some friends' engagement party and was just so tired and happy for them that I just forgot to come back down to retrieve you" I apologized to her with a low, humble bow.

"Very well, I forgive you. But I expect a hot bath tonight and for you to scrub my back for me" she replied as she flew over to and sat upon my shoulder.

"I'll even give you a back massage if you like" I offered her and she happily agreed before slipping down to hide in my blouse pocket.

I then headed off for the cafeteria where I was happily greeted by Hinata and Laura as they were saving a seat for me at the table that they were sharing.

"Sensei is supposed to announce which teams we're assigned to today; I do hope the three of us are on the same team" Hinata said with a slight waver of trepidation in her voice.

"I'm sure we will, Hinata-chan; we balance out each other and Sensei is sure to have noticed that by now" I replied with confidence in my voice as I sat down with a bowl of cereal and a fruit cup.

"I still think we'd be better balanced with a couple of boys on our team" offered Laura with a smile.

"If you say so" I replied while rolling my eyes to the ceiling in aggravation while subtly slipping a few pieces of my cereal into my pocket for Clementina to munch on.

We then took our trays, bowls, and glasses to the bussing station and set our trays atop it before returning to our rooms to brush our teeth before class. Finishing first, I walked back down to our classroom where I found Josh trying to comfort Sherbet as she was crying rather heavily while accusing him of hating her.

"I don't hate you, Sherbet-chan; I just forgot because…I'm just an oversized baka who'd probably lose his head if it wasn't screwed on right" he told her while trying to give her a bath in a tea cup.

"He's telling the truth, Sherbet-chan; even Kaarii forgot about me overnight after closing me up in a cabinet" Clementina added in his defense while picking up a face cloth for Sherbet to use to get dried off with.

As far as we knew, Josh and I were the only two with Sweets Spirits ever since the last time we worked together on an assignment.

~Flashback~

Josh and I were working together on getting a three layer orange chiffon/vanilla ice cream cake done when the bag of flour accidentally slipped out of my hand and both of us turned away while covering our faces so as not to breath in the flour when 2 small sneezes were heard.

"Bless you…arigato…but I didn't sneeze" we said to one another at the same time when two more sneezes were heard from our pockets and we both look up at each other in surprise. "You have a Sweets Spirit?"

We then reached into our shirt pockets and extracted our two little friends and introduced them to one another before the four of us shared a heartfelt laugh.

~End of Flashback~

"It sure would help, though, if you guys would just explain nani is going on instead of just shoving us into a cabinet, drawer, or something" Clementina added while Josh was drying Sherbet off with a towel.

"We'll try to keep that in mind in the future" Josh replied as he then set Sherbet down to let her change into some clean clothes and to sample a new recipe for an ice cream flavor that he had been working on.

"Needs more fruit juice" she told him with a smile and Josh decided to add another cup of pineapple juice and a quarter cup of coconut milk to the mix and blended it together before letting her try another sample. "M-m-m, that's much better!"

"Arigato, Sherbet-chan" he expressed appreciatively as he patted her on the head with the tip of his index finger.

"We had best be getting to class; Sensei is supposed to announce the teams today" I said lightly; part of me wanted Josh on my team while the rest of me still refused to trust him.

Just as Josh and I were about to enter our classroom, I heard someone call out to me and saw Himeko standing off to the side and so I gave pause before entering.

"Himeko-chan, to nani do I owe this pleasure?" I inquired sweetly though I felt like gagging against my own words.

"Can I talk to you for a few minutes; it's kind of important" she replied and, for the first time since I've known her, I could see genuine concern in her eyes.

"Sure, but can it wait until after this first class; I should have lots of time then since the next one won't start for quite a while later" I replied to her and she nodded her head in agreement.

I quickly rejoined the class and sat down with Hinata and Laura while they sent me curious looks as I was rarely one to come in just ahead of our sensei.

"Daijobu, class, settle down onegai" Sensei said as she approached the front of the class and patiently waited for everyone to find their seats. "Now, as you all know, today is when I will be announcing the teams that you will all be breaking off into and I will also be assigning your team names. To begin, Team Alpha will consist of Kaarii, Hinata, Laura, Josh, and finally Takumi; would the five of you onegai move up to table 1?"

We gathered up our books and moved over to the indicated table where we also found a card marked, 'Practice Kitchen #1'.

After almost half an hour, the other teams were announced with Team Gamma as being the last one announced.

"Now, you will all notice that each group has been assigned a practice kitchen marked on the cards on your table. Each day, you will all assemble here, at your assigned stations, to receive your assignment for the day, after which point you will all be dismissed to your assigned practice kitchens to begin working on and/or plotting out how you and your teammates are going to perform the assignments. But, for now, I'm going to dismiss you all to your practice kitchens to get to know one another before dismissing you all for the day, so meet back here in about thirty minutes" Sensei informed us and we all eagerly headed off to our practice kitchens for socialization.

Since I knew most of my teammates already, I dispensed with this for the moment to go and speak with Himeko over whatever little trivial matter was plaguing her.

"So nani is bugging you, Himeko-chan?" I asked of her with a light smile; I'd rather be talking to someone else but I wanted to be polite all the same.

"Kaarii-chan, back when we were still in high school, I was speaking with Momoko about how I had been released on an early parole for aiding a fallen officer during a violent escape attempt. I wanted to talk to you about it, also, but you were having a really bad day that day and since then had forgotten…until last night" she started to tell me and I felt my curiosity being piqued.

"So nani happened to remind you of this little trivial matter?" I asked of her while trying to maintain my patience.

"I had a dream last night that recounted everything that had occurred back then. Kaarii-chan, when I was in prison there was this punk that kept cheerfully boasting of how he had managed to escape prison in the United States only to be arrested as a stowaway on a cruise ship bound for Nihon. He then continuously told anyone around him, whether they wanted to hear it or not, that as soon as he could arrange to break out again, he was going to go off in search of his ex-girlfriend so as to get even with her for sending him to prison in the first place" she began telling me and I my heart began pounding so hard, I could hear it in my ears while I felt beads of perspiration starting to form on my brow, cheeks, and back as my mouth went dry as a desert.

"One day, I got so sick of listening to him, I asked him nani his ex-girlfriend would be doing in Nihon of all places and he told me that her parents got a divorce and that her…forgive me, these are his words and not mine…dumb-o-shiri father drug her along with him to this country while her 'female canine' of a mother remained in the States with her retarded ototo. He then used a few choice words in regards to me, but I just told him that he was only making himself sound like a baka by using such pathetic language. So anyways, after using a few more choice words in regards to me, I then asked of him nani the _smart _girl's name was and, after sending me a sour look, he told me your name" Himeko finished explaining.

"Iie, iie, it can't be him, it just can't!" I said in a worried panic.

"Kaarii-chan…did you use to date some baka by the name of Daisuke?" she asked of me and I turned to the nearest trashcan and threw up. "I'll take it that means 'hai'."

Josh poked his head out of the kitchen and ran up towards us when Himeko told him to get me some ginger ale and he nodded his head before turning to run off to the cafeteria. I drank down the ginger ale as soon as Josh returned and began feeling a little better.

"Arigato for telling me all of this, Himeko-chan" I expressed to her and she simply nodded her head while casting a sad look at the floor.

"Doitashimashite, Kaarii-chan; gomen nasai, but I need to finish running some errands. Good luck with your classes" she then bid me as she turned and left while Josh helped me to return to our classroom.

We entered the practice kitchen together and Josh sat me down upon a stool while our teammates just looked at us in concern before continuing on with their conversation, though Takumi just seemed to be sitting back and staring at Laura and Hinata rather lustfully.

"So, nani does it take to get your room numbers for nighttime soirees with you josei-tachi?" Takumi finally asked.

"Hey, you mind your manners! My partner is not interested in any kind of romantic relationships at this time!" shouted Clementina as she shot up out of my pocket and into the boy's face.

"Looks like you're not the only one with a Sweets Spirit after all, Takumi-kun" noted a male voice as a Sweets Spirit came out of Takumi's pocket. He had black eyes and deep sienna hair and wore a deep brown slacks and sports coat with a yellow vest underneath with a white shirt and brown tie with a silver monogrammed tea spoon with the letter F on the decorative handle.

"Hai, well you would do very well to keep your partner's atrocious manners in check, Fudge-kun" noted a small girl's voice as another Sweets Spirit flew out from behind Laura's long hair. This one wore a chocolate brown pinafore with a coffee-black cape and trim with brown Mary-Jane's adorning her small feet. She had rose red eyes, and wore her short, black hair in side buns, while wearing coffee-black hair bows.

"Gomen nasai, Mocha-chan; but hormonal young men tend to let their lower regions speak more than they allow their brains to" Fudge apologized while giving Takumi a bop on the head with a wooden spoon.

We then heard someone giggling as another Sweets Spirit appeared upon Hinata's shoulder, wearing a caramel female magician's outfit with a caramel-colored skirt with a cream fringe that stopped two inches above the knees with toffee-colored sash tied around her waist that had long tails hanging from the back. She also wore a toffee-colored magician's hat, caramel-colored flats with matching gloves to avoid getting her hands dirty, and has yellow eyes and blonde hair in waterfall curls.

"Toffee-chan; long time iie see!" exclaimed Mocha and Clementina excitedly.

"I know, it's been a while since I've seen you two also" Toffee replied as she embraced the other two.

"Can I come out and meet the others now, Josh-kun?" requested Sherbet and I couldn't help but notice the surprised and unhappy looks on Fudge's, Toffee's, and Mocha's faces as Sherbet poked her little head up out of Josh's pocket.

"Sherbet-chan, nani are you doing here?" asked Mocha in an annoyed tone of voice.

"Hey, don't be like that; Sherbet's found herself a good, kind-hearted partner this time with loads of patience and understanding" Clementina spoke up in Sherbet's defense much to the other three's surprise.

"Well that's good; her last partner…wasn't nearly as nice or patient" Fudge noted as he lighted to Josh's shoulder to assist Sherbet in stepping up out of his pocket.

All of this only seemed to serve as a reminder to Sherbet of her unhappy past so that she began crying again.

"Hai, well if anyone should even try to be mean to Sherbet-chan, they had best hope they have a really strong army to keep me from ripping their face off" Josh said protectively as he began rubbing Sherbet's back to make her feel better.

"Do you really mean that, Josh-kun?" Sherbet asked of him uncertainly while wiping the tears from her eyes.

"You bet I do! Not to mention that I have some really powerful friends to help back me" Josh replied in confidence and even I couldn't help but to start looking at him in a new light: he genuinely cared.

Sherbet smiled and hugged him in appreciation and he just lightly chuckled as he patted her on the head with the tip of his index finger.

The rest of us smiled at the two of them before turning to get started on our own individual projects when I suddenly felt a jolt as of lightning shoot through me and I fell unconscious to the floor.

Josh's POV

We heard Kaarii gasp out in pain as she grabbed a hold of her head with one hand before falling to the floor and blacking out. Running over to her, Hinata and I began checking her vitals while Laura and Takumi looked over the oven she had been about to use while checking it to see if whatever had affected Kaarii had come from it.

"Her vitals seem normal" Hinata announced after listening to Kaarii's heart while I felt her wrist for a pulse.

"It's an electric oven and there are iie loose wires showing" Laura informed us.

"Could she have suffered either an aneurysm or a stroke?" Takumi asked of us in concern.

"I don't know, but I'm taking her to the infirmary" I informed them as I lifted Kaarii up off the floor and rushed out the door with Hinata helping me with getting through doors while Takumi and Laura ran ahead to make sure the pathway was clear and to open doors for me and Hinata to pass through.

Kangofu-sensei came out of her office after Laura had quickly filled her in and led me into the office with instruction to set Kaarii upon one of the beds. Checking Kaarii over thoroughly, she then headed over to her first-aid kit and extracted an ammonia capsule which she broke open and waved under Kaarii's nose until she awoke and sneezed a couple of times.

"You gave us quite a scare, wakai josei; do you have any idea as to why you fainted?" Kangofu-sensei inquired of Kaarii while I was hugging her from behind.

Kaarii's POV

After awakening and checking my surroundings, I heard nani Kangofu-sensei asked of me and I just shook my head 'iie' as I had iie wish to talk about it. Instead, I just pushed Josh off of me, stood up, and just ran away to return to my dorm room to be alone.

"You really should talk about it, Kaarii-chan; it just might help you to feel better" offered Clementina from my nightstand while I was lightly crying into my pillow.

Hinata soon entered the room quietly and sat down upon my bed as she ran a hand through my hair in a comforting manner before offering, "Come on, Kaarii-chan; I'll bet you feel a whole lot better after a shower and bath."

I nodded my head and followed her into the furoba where we began getting washed up before settling down into the o-furo to enjoy the hot water. I could see the concerned and questioning look in her face and so I finally broke down and shared my story with her.

"Oh my word; it is iie wonder why you don't trust guys anymore!" she exclaimed and I just slowly nodded my head. "Have you told anyone else this?"

"Hai, I told a good friend of mine who's also a lot like an oniisan to me. I know he wants to dispose of the creep for me, but I just don't know if he'll be able to help me at the time" I told her and now it was her turn to nod her head in understanding.

"Well, there's nothing we can do about it right now, so we'd best be turning in for the night" Hinata suggested with a yawn as she rose up from the water and began getting dried off and dressed as I followed her lead.

Early the following morning, after a quick breakfast, I then started off towards the medical college, with Clementina sitting upon my shoulder, in hopes of finding Luke so as to speak with him. I rounded a corner when something was swung into my stomach and caused me to drop to the ground in pain and thus sent Clementina tumbling off my shoulder but she was able to take flight before hitting the sidewalk.

Gasping for breath, I looked up in time to have someone then kick me in the face, knocking me back and away. Cringing in pain, I noticed Clementina flying up to a high ledge overhead where she could hide and remain safe.

Clementina's POV

I remembered hearing Kaarii making mention of this creep and realized just who it was that was now lifting Kaarii up off the ground by her shirt collar: Daisuke.

Daisuke had a sadistic smirk on as he held Kaarii by the shirt collar. The latter's eyes were wide with fear and tears were streaming out of her eyes. She must have felt like a bomb went off in her stomach and, judging by the look on her face, she was just about to feel the worse of it.

"Well, it's about time I caught up with you!" Daisuke said, as he held a fist up.

"You... Why did you have to come back now of all times..." Kaarii mumbled inaudibly.

"Oh, put a sock in it!" Daisuke said, before punching Kaarii in the face and knocking her back to the ground. Kaarii tried getting up, but Daisuke jumped onto her back and started punching her and slapping her on her back, face, and arms.

"Tasuke!" Kaarii shouted, before getting herself turned around. She then kicked him hard in the groin and then she managed to scramble away, but Daisuke got back up on his feet and then he knocked her back down while he pulled out a rifle.

Mine and Kaarii's eyes shot open and then we both started muttering a prayer in Hebrew while squeezing her hands together; I'd picked up some of the language from her.

Daisuke pulled the trigger, but the bullet that was shot out landed smack-dab in the middle of Kaarii's compact and the blast knocked her away a little bit, causing Kaarii to hit her head and then fall unconscious. I guess some prayers are answered after all, as somehow Kaarii was still alive.

Josh's POV

I had been out getting some exercise that morning when I overheard the sounds of a scuffle as well as hearing Kaarii crying out and then went running to the rescue. I saw nani was going on and told Sherbet, "Go find and hide with Clementina! Something tells me this is going to be too dangerous for Sweets Spirits!"

Sherbet nodded and then she flew off in another direction, while I ducked behind a corner and transformed into Bash. I then used his super speed to run to the scene and then he saw Kaarii unconscious and Daisuke about to fondle her.

Clementina's POV

I glanced up to notice Sherbet landing beside me with tears of concern for our partners in her eyes and so I gave her a quick hug before turning back to watch the action unfold.

"Hey, baka" Bash shouted, catching Daisuke's attention. "Nani the hell do you think you're doing to Kaarii-chan?"

"What I've always done to her; I _am_ her former boyfriend after all" Daisuke said, twirling his rifle on his finger.

Bash took a good look at Daisuke, and noticed that every little detail about him spelled bad news; he even smelled foul to the point of nearly inducing a vomiting fit.

"Don't give me that crap; iie one hurts Kaarii-chan and gets away with it!" Bash said as he pulled out his giant paddle ball.

"I wonder if Josh is the one to get Bash involved in this; speaking of whom, I wonder Josh is for that matter" noted Sherbet to me quietly and I began to pay closer attention to Bash.

"Go ahead and try something, fool, I don't mind perforating your intestines" Daisuke said with a snide smile on his face as he pointed his gun at Bash.

"Perhaps your right, nani do you think?" Bash asked of someone behind Daisuke and the punk turned to see who was behind him, but iie one was there. "Ball Snare" Bash then called out as he smacked the ball attached to his paddle so that it wrapped around Daisuke's gun and, with a hard yank backwards, snatched the weapon away from Daisuke's hands.

"Fine, I don't need a damned gun to deal with an idiot like you" Daisuke shouted as he threw Kaarii onto the ground and charged forward to engage in hand-to-hand combat with Bash.

I heard a groan and looked down to see Kaarii was starting to come around from her concussion and turned to stare at the two boys fighting over her.

Kaarii's POV

I laid there watching Daisuke and Bash punching and kicking each other in all manners of combat forms when I paused to notice that of the two boys, Bash seemed to have an oxen-like aura wrapped around him while Daisuke was surrounded by a devilish monster-like aura.

Soon Daisuke broke free of the fight and ran over to grab up his gun which he then came back over towards me and placed its barrel straight against my temple as he said, "Come on then, stupid, let's see if you can find a way to get to me before I blow Kaarii's brains out."

To say I was terrified at this point would be an understatement as I felt myself wanting to throw up from the tension in my stomach. That was when I noticed Bash's aura change from that of an ox to that of a fierce bull as his paddle ball morphed into a giant Sashimi knife that was almost as big as Blade's buster sword. He charged forward and slashed his weapon so that it cleaved through Daisuke's gun…and even his belt buckle. Gun powder and buck shot spilled from the gun much to Daisuke's surprise just before he glanced down to notice that his pants had dropped down to his knees.

Suddenly a voice rang through my head, 'I see you in need of one with the aura of an ox, but while he is standing in front of you, you are too timid and this makes you blind to him.' It was followed by another voice asking, 'Nani do you think it would mean if you were referred to as having the aura of an ox but being too shy to express your true feelings to one who is blind to you?'

Daisuke was trying to escape Bash's wrath when Bash, leaping high into the air, brought the spine of his blade down upon Daisuke's neck so that he fell to the ground in an unconscious heap and smacking his head upon a stone. Bash stood over Daisuke's body, breathing heavily as his anger abated and his giant knife changed back into a giant paddle-ball.

Turning back, he then approached me so as to check up on me while asking, "Are you daijobu now, Kaarii-chan?"

He then began to hug me close which was making a bit uncomfortable so that I began to struggle to get way when he pulled me back in to say, "I don't know nani I would do without you, Kaarii-chan!"

I caved in as I began crying tears of joy before saying, "I'm such a stubborn baka! Why didn't I see it before?"

"Huh; see nani before" Bash said asked of me before reverting back to his street form.

"That you're the one" I replied while furiously wiping the tears from my eyes.

"I'm the one nani?" he asked in confusion.

"The aura reader back at the amusement park... she said that 'in order to remove the dark cloud hanging over my head, I need to find a boy with the aura of an Ox to put my full love and trust into'. Josh...You are the one with the aura of the Ox!"

Josh then smiled even warmer and then he held me, his beloved, even closer to him as he replied, "Well, my mother always did say that I was rather bull-headed."

We shared a good heartfelt laugh after that with little realization that our two Sweets Spirits were smiling down upon the two of us before turning to smile to each other. Clementina then whispered an idea to Sherbet and together they flew back to school to wait for us.

"Celebrate while you can" Daisuke said as he awoke and drew forth a pistol and pointed it straight at us.

"Solar Flare" shouted a familiar voice as a beam of solar energy crashed down upon Daisuke.

Looking up, we both saw nani first appeared to be a golden dragon, but when the light dissipated, revealed Blade lowering down to the ground in front of us.

Stooping down to check Daisuke's unconscious body, Blade then turned and asked of us, "Are you two daijobu?"

"Hai, Blade-sempai; we're fine now that you've stepped in" Bash confessed.

"Daijobu then, the police and an ambulance should be here soon to for this guy's carcass, but they're going to require a statement from both of you" Blade instructed us and we nodded our heads in understanding.

Daisuke, according to the medics, would never awaken again as he was rendered comatose. When asked if he should be put on life-support, I gave them his family's phone number and left it at that.

With Blade waving us on, we sneaked off and transformed into our alternate forms before we took flight, chasing each other over the skyline until he finally caught up with me as we entered the school through an open window and began to share our first kiss together.

We took a quick look around our surroundings and reverted back to our normal forms before sharing yet another kiss together, this one longer and with much more passion as I subconsciously lifted one leg off of the ground.

"Looks like you were right after all, Sherbet-chan" a small voice announced quite loudly and thus interrupting our private moment. "Next time you two want to go off and play Powerpuffs Z, just tell us so instead of locking us up, we'll understand" Clementina then said as she pushed the door to the cabinet she and Sherbet were hiding in open.

We then embraced our little Sweets Spirits before apologizing to them for keeping our secret from them, but also swearing them to secrecy where our teammates and the other Sweets Spirits were concerned; they readily agreed.

As for Daisuke, well, it turns out that his family had disowned him such a long time ago and thus he was offered as an organ donor providing he was healthy enough for use. Sadly, though, he wasn't fit for anything other than fertilizer and was thus sent off to a crematorium to be disposed of.

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><p><strong>Carly: Wait, so if he's dead, then how's he going to make a second appearance later on?<strong>

**TCW: That's my secret.**

**Carly: I don't think I like the sounds of that. But, meanwhile, nani is in store for the next chapter?**

**Next time…**

**Momoko: You're all rejoining me, Luke, Ken, and my family as we all head over to an onsen for the weekend!**

**Ken: Only there appears to be a hidden agenda involved and none of us are happy about it.**

**Luke: Don't worry; we'll put those baka-tachi in their places.**

**TCW: All this and much, much more, coming soon!**

**Carly and Momoko: So be sure to leave us some really nice reviews, onegai!**


	42. Onsen Weekend

**Thanks plenty to all of my reviewers! For this next chapter I should warn you all: it is a little suggestive, but I have purposely made sure to keep the content as clean as possible for you all too still enjoy it as well as keeping the T-rating. And now here's…**

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><p><strong>Onsen Weekend<strong>

Kuriko and I were really excited when we woke up the next morning as we knew that Luke and Ken would be accompanying us to an onsen this weekend. Though, when we gave pause to think about it, it did seem a little strange that dad, of all people, would actually encourage us into inviting them along.

When he first heard about me dating Luke, he was nonplussed, but when he heard about Kuriko dating Ken, he was just about ready to read Ken the 'Riot-Act' about how to appropriately behave around _his baby girl_. It took me, Kuriko, mom, and even Luke reassuring him to settle him down and even then the only reason he listened was because Luke was Ken's itoko and had already been studiously coaching him on proper manners and chivalry.

However, when the truth finally came out, we were all quite surprised.

~Flashback – in Hachizou's POV~

My boss approached me while I was on my break to discuss meeting with a new client from America that afternoon and I readily accepted the invitation, thinking that it would be held in office. We met our new client in my boss's office and the conversation quickly turned to that of going out to a casino to have dinner and maybe a few drinks and I thought very little of it; I don't drink as I know Kakiko doesn't approve of anything more than a small glass every once in a while and even then only on special occasions.

When we arrived at the casino, I noticed one of the local yakuza gang leaders sitting at a table and watching everyone rather suspiciously. I whispered this information into my boss's ear in hopes that he would understand our situation but he dismiss it with a wave of his hand as the hostess led us to our table.

"Would you shinshi-tachi like anything to drink while you're deciding?" our waitress inquired of us and everyone ordered beer while I just requested an iced tea.

"What's the problem; can't handle your liquor?" asked our client rather smartly.

"I just never acquired a taste for it though I do enjoy a small glass on special occasions" I replied honestly.

"And you don't consider my account a special occasion; not very optimistic if you ask me" he then replied and I could sense my boss getting a little worried.

"I thought I'd wait until after we've sealed the deal" I returned in a bit of a fib in hopes he wouldn't catch on to my real intent to just simply avoid the drink.

"I like the way you think" he then said with a smile and I just smiled back while noticing my boss relax.

After two hours of talking, dealing, and enjoying our lunch, we finally settled on an agreement and when the waitress came around I requested a shot of sake to celebrate our successful partnership. When my drink arrived we raised our glass in a toast to seal the deal while my boss and I proclaimed, "Kanpai!" while our client said, "Cheers!"

We paid our bill and began to head for the door when I noticed a gambling chip on the floor next to a roulette table and picked it up. I kept trying to get the dealer's attention to let him know I'd found the thing, but he kept ignoring me so I finally threw it onto the table, where it landed on a number, before turning and heading for the door.

I was suddenly stopped by a group of armed men and the casino went suddenly quiet.

"Hey, this is your chip which you threw onto the table, right?" asked an elderly man that I instantly recognized as the yakuza godfather.

"I-iie sir, I was just trying to return it to the table after finding it on the floor" I explained honestly.

"Your chip landed on 24; the ball landed on twelve. I had 140,000,000 yen on the winning number" he then told me with a grin.

"B-b-but I don't have that kind of money" I replied in concern as I began sweating nervously.

"Yamagata-san, nani kind of information can you find on this guy for me?" he then asked of one of his companions with a small computer.

"Akatsutsumi Hachizou, married, has two musume-tachi, one in college and the other in high school, drives a four-door compact car and a modest two story home" the man, a pointy-faced, rat-toothed, shifty-eyed individual read from his computer.

"Neither the house nor the car combined would amount to even half of the money, but I tell you nani; I'm a decent fellow, you give me both of your musume-tachi and we will call it even" the gang's leader told me and I began to feel myself getting angry.

I knew this meant any one of a number of things and none of them did I wish to think of at this point in time as I returned, "Gomen nasai, but my eldest is already engaged to be married and my youngest is already seeing someone."

"You think I care; now do we have a deal or nani?" he asked of me as he leveled his eyes at me.

I knew he had me. If I fought, they'd kill me and they would still take my girls away.

"I'm spending the weekend with my girls at Kazoku Onsen; you can at least allow me to spend this one final time with them" I replied as the tears began to pour from my eyes.

"I am not without a heart, enjoy your time with your musume-tachi and we will meet you there to take them into custody" the man then said as we were dismissed to leave out the door.

"Ooh, tough break there, Hachizou; I only wish there was some way I could help get you out of losing your daughters, but I don't know beans about your country's customs on such matters" offered our new client in a sympathetic tone of voice.

Just then a black streak shot across the sky causing us to look up and watch as Blade briefly paused to wave to me before continuing on his way…and an idea entered my mind.

"Don't worry, I think I know someone who can help" I said with a semi-nasty grin on my face.

Later that evening, after arriving at home, I called Momoko and Kuriko down from their rooms and gave each of them a tight hug before telling them, "Girls, I want you to call up your boyfriends and invite them along to the onsen this weekend."

"Do you really mean that, daddy?" they both asked excitedly and I nodded my head in reply to watch as they turned and dashed off to the telephone to call up Luke and Ken.

"Well, that was awful nice of you, but why the sudden change of heart?" Kakiko asked of me and I bowed my head before pulling her into the kitchen to tell her nani had happened…to her credit and my relief, she was not only understanding, but she even agreed that inviting the boys along was a really good idea

~End of Flashback – in Momoko's POV~

Luke and Ken met us at the door first thing that Saturday morning and both Kuriko and I eagerly greeted them, albeit if still in our pajamas as we had just finished breakfast.

"You girls had best be getting upstairs and dressed if you expect to accompany us to the onsen" Mom told us and we bowed to our boyfriends before taking off for our rooms to get dressed.

"Stop me if I'm wrong, but doesn't tradition at an onsen require all parties to be undressed and only wearing towels for any kind of modest covering?" Ken inquired somewhat nervously.

"Come with me, shinshi-tachi" dad told them as they all stepped into the kitchen to talk privately.

Hachizou's POV

Momoko had always warned me about Luke's many mean looks that went from merely off to totally pissed off to outright rage and now, as I stand here telling them of nani had happened to me at the casino, I half expected to look up and see one of those expressions, so it surprised me when Luke sat with his eyes close, iie smile or sneer upon his lip, and just nodded his head.

"You try and do the decent thing and the next thing you know, your own children are the line" Ken said with a look of mild annoyance.

"I understand" Luke simply said as he stood up and headed back for the living room where he met Momoko and Kuriko with a smile and began laughing when Kuriko jumped from the stairs onto his back.

"He never ceases to amaze me" I told Kakiko as she came up beside me and smiled at the four of them as they played and teased each other.

Momoko's POV

We rode out to the onsen with Ken riding with mom, dad, and Kuriko while I rode on the back of Luke's motorcycle and sitting side-saddle. Upon arrival, we were shown to the antechambers of the pool that we had reserved for the day. Kuriko, Mom and I entered the one side while Dad, Luke, and Ken went in on the other side. We all completely undressed, bathed, and slipped the provided towels around ourselves before exiting out to approach the hot spring pool while smiling up at each other brightly.

Mom and Dad headed straight into the pool while Mom told us, "Enjoy yourselves, children, but remember to keep it clean."

To say that Luke and Ken were a little uncomfortable would be an understatement as they stood off to one side, blushing brightly and trying not to stare at us.

"She said to keep it clean not that you couldn't touch us" Kuriko told them with a giggle before dashing off with Ken in pursuit for an outcropping that hung over the pool.

I was smiling up at the two of them when Luke walked up behind me and slipped a hand into my towel and began to play with my navel as I screeched out, "Hey, iie fair going for that spot first!"

"Then turn around and kiss me" he whispered into my ear and so I spun around and kissed him soundly on the lips.

"Hmm, how come you're wearing your power belt?" I asked of Luke after we parted to catch our breath.

"Because I can't protect my family if I don't have it with me" he replied and I began wondering nani he would need to protect us from but decided to dismiss as mild paranoia.

Kuriko released a joyful screech and we all looked up to watch as she hugged Ken tightly and now had a beautiful amber and citrine ring upon her hand; he'd just proposed to her. Mom and Dad smiled at the two of them brightly and both Luke and I congratulated them on their engagement.

Soon afterwards, we all entered the water together, with me and Kuriko leaning our heads against our boys' chests as we sat upon their laps and enjoyed the hot water. A lunch meal was brought in and set down on a small table by our hosts who bowed to us before backing out of the room. We rose up out of the water as we had decided to enjoy the meal together while wearing the provided bath robes. We had just finished eating and Kuriko and I were leading our boys on a chase around the room when we both gave pause as ten men entered the room and all began to form a half circle in front of the exit as another man walked in using a cane and had a strange smile on his face that could almost have been mistaken for a sneer.

"So these two must be the beautiful musume-tachi I have been hearing about from my men" the elderly man said in a rough voice that had Kuriko now hiding behind me. "And speaking of men, who are these two young men that you have with you, Akatsutsumi Hachizou?"

"These are my musume-tachi's fiancés; you're four hours early" I heard dad say as he stood up as both Kuriko and I tried to back away from the newcomers.

The elderly man then approached me and took hold of me by my chin and cheeks and began to turn my face in different directions as he said, "Hai, very beautiful indeed to the right buyer."

"You want to take your filthy hands off of my girl" I heard Luke speak out and all turned to pay close attention to him.

He had that look in his eyes that said, 'You make one more wrong move and you're dead', on his face.

"You'd do well to mind your manners, boy" the old man said as he spun me around, yanked my towel away and began to run a hand over my bare back and backside.

"I won't ask you again; get your damned hands off of my girl" Luke shouted again and this time when everyone turned to look at him, they began to back away from me while muttering prayers of mercy for themselves to whatever deities they chose to offer them to.

"He's Blade!" I heard one man exclaim in fear.

"I don't care who you are, you don't speak to our…" the man never got the opportunity to finish his sentence as Blade took the pommel of his sword and shoved the man's face through the ceiling with it.

"I wasn't finished speaking. Now if you don't mind, I'd like to finish speaking my mind, so hang around for a while" Blade said as he returned his sword to its sheath.

"I've heard of eyes like those; they're the eyes of a man-slayer" spoke the elderly man as he backed away from me with a look of terror in his own eyes.

"You will leave this place and forget all about my Gifu's little debt or the next time I pull my sword, there will be much bloodshed" Blade told them as he took up a stance with his sword on one side and his hand poised over the pommel so as to draw it; Kaarii had told me once about said stance, normally used by one with a katana, it was the starting position to a move that guaranteed death to one's opponent.

A single shot rang out and skimmed across Blade's upper arm where it connected to the shoulder. The man, who had fired his only shot, began to shake quite visibly when Blade turned to look at him. Forgoing drawing his sword, Blade called out, "Solar Flare!" He fell to the ground covered in a full-bodied sunburn that had his flesh smoking.

"Gomen nasai, but I think you dropped this" the elderly man said to me as he picked up and returned my towel to me before turning and heading for the door. "Shinshi-tachi, if you will excuse me, I'm going to…start running and screaming for my life!"

The other nine men gather up their one severely burned friend and all took off running and following their boss.

"Domo arigato gozaimasu for saving my musume-tachi, Blade-san" Dad started to say when we noticed him checking his watch.

Suddenly there was a loud explosion and both Kuriko and I wrapped our arms around Blade for protection when Brain flew into the room as he said, "I let the lead limo escape as you instructed, Blade-kun."

"Great work, now I don't know about the rest of you, but I do believe I left off chasing my girlfriend around the pool" Blade said before reverting back to his normal form and began chasing me around the pool once again, only this time I let him catch me as I wanted him to hold and kiss me.

I was still a little upset after things had settled down a bit, so much so that even as Luke had his hand inside my towel and playing with my navel again, I didn't find it ticklish.

"Dad, nani did he mean by we would be able to cover your debt?" Kuriko asked as even she was a little upset by all of it.

Dad then went into detail on nani had occurred the other day and of how he spotted Blade flying by when they were leaving the casino and of how he got the idea to have Luke and Ken come along if only to protect me and Kuriko with little regard to his own safety.

"Do us all a favor: the next time you see a chip on the floor near a gambling table, leave it there" Luke said a bit firmly and we all shared in a heartfelt laugh while dad just blushed and rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment.

We all soon rose up and returned to the antechambers to get dressed and to head for home. Ken was granted permission to put Kuriko to bed while Luke was also given permission to put me to bed, though we first made it into another make-out session. Kuriko and I both let our guys hold onto us while undressed from the waist up and much to our amazement, they kept their hands away from our chests to pay more attention to the rest of us before slipping out pajama tops over our arms and buttoned them up for us. Helping us into our beds and tucking us in for the night, they both kissed us and soon left out our bedroom doors to head for home.

Hachizou's POV

When I returned to work the next day, I noticed a letter upon my desk and opened it find many cards and pieces of paper with my home address and phone number as well as a letter which read, "You have been completely deleted from our data logs and your debt has been canceled – Yamamoto."

I let out a mild laugh and ran all of the papers through the shredder and thus ended my nightmare with the yakuza.

Our new client was walking past my desk when he gave pause to say, "Hey, I think I know of a way to get you out of that mess you're in!"

"Arigato, but it's already been taken care of" I replied lightly as I had iie wish to get back into that subject.

"Really, how did you do it; you didn't give in to their demands did you?" he asked of me in concern.

"Iie, they just met my giri no musuko" I replied with a light laugh.

He then pulled out a Nihon-go/Ei-go dictionary and looked up nani I had just told him and he inquired, "Your son in-law; just who the heck is he?"

"Him" I said as I pointed to the window where Blade was hovering outside before sending us a mock-salute before flying off to wherever his next destination was while my new friend just looked on in total amazement.

"Can you mail me his autograph; my daughter would just love it" he inquired and so I nodded my head in agreement as we traded addresses.

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><p><strong>Carly: As indicated, a bit suggestive but you purposely kept this clean for the sake of rating.<strong>

**TCW: True.**

**Carly: So nani is in store for the next chapter?**

**Next time…**

**Momoko: It's Christmas time once again and Luke and I are on our way back to America.**

**Kaarii: With me and Clementina tagging along for the first leg of the journey as I'm returning home to visit with my mother and Chico.**

**TCW: All this and a whole lot more…coming soon!**

**Momoko and Carly: Just be sure to leave us some nice reviews, onegai!**

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><p><strong>Extra definitions:<strong>

**Yakuza – a highly trained gangster society (a taboo subject in Japan)**

**Kazuko – family**

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><p><strong>Author's note: Please understand that the names, Yamagata and Yamamoto, while very common in Japan, are <strong>_**NOT**_** used in any means of disrespect to any families of said names nor do they represent any real members of the yakuza. These are just names that I have stumbled across in a book I've read by one of my favorite authors and since they stood out in my mind, I decided to use them. Again, **_**NO**_** disrespect is intended.**


	43. Return to Townsville

**Arigato for the many great reviews, friends! Onegai, note that in the latter part of the chapter when Luke and Momoko are in Townsville, all italicized words are being spoken in Nihon-go. ** **And now, on with the show as we join Luke and Momoko as they…**

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><p><strong>Return to Townsville<strong>

Luke and I were studiously making plans to return to America to visit with his family over the Christmas holiday and needless to say, Mom was not very happy about it as she engaged me in an argument, "It's just for a little less than a week, Mom."

"I don't care! Do you have any idea how hard it was spending that one Christmas without you while you were away for high school? I had to repeatedly run to my room to cry into my pillow so that Kuriko wouldn't see!" Mom told me while tearing up; it was hard to see her like this, but I also wanted to go with Luke.

"Come on, honey, you need to stop trying to guilt-trip your musume and let her go with Luke back to America. Besides, if it really means that much to you, we'll postpone our Christmas until they get back" Dad offered her while trying to be helpful; of course when Mom shot him a dirty look, he instantly tried to take her side on the issue. "Your mother's right, you should be home with your family for the holiday."

"Nani if Luke set up a video-conference on his computer while they're gone so as to allow us to share the holiday together even if they're over on the other side of the ocean?" Kuriko suggested as she recalled the way Luke had done just as such for Kaarii and Chico that one time.

Now it was her turn to receive a dirty look from Mom only she had the audacity to shoot back the sweet little girl eyes that could still melt people's hearts so that it became a battle of wills to see who would win this argument. They both broke off at the same time and I realized that the argument was still at a draw as I returned to my room to start packing my suitcase though Mom still followed to try and continue convincing me not to go.

"And nani about when I get married and have a family of my own?" I finally shot back at Mom and she gave pause to think about it.

"You don't think you would visit us or we would visit you?" she asked me in return.

"I don't know, I mean that would be kind of hard to do if we decide to return to America so as to allow our children to visit with their sofu" I stated in all honesty and again Mom was taken aback by my reply. "And then there's the fact that Kuriko and her family may wish to spend time with you. And let's face it, this house isn't big enough for three generations to be inside of it at the same time and you can't be in two places at once so that if Kuriko wants you to spend time with her family and I would want you to spend time with mine. Do you see nani I'm trying to say?"

"I suppose you're right" Mom replied quietly for the first time today.

"It doesn't mean I don't still love you or dad or Kuriko, because I really do, it's just that, Luke and I both want to tell them of our being engaged and want to invite them to the wedding personally" I told her as we sat down on the side of my bed together.

"Wedding; nani wedding; you haven't said anything about a wedding to me yet!" Mom said starting to get loud and excited again.

"Luke and I intend to get married after we've been working for at least a year" I told her honestly and she relaxed.

"I thought you were going to get married after college?" she then inquired of me.

"We've been thinking and talking about it and thought it may be a better idea to wait until we're settled into our jobs before taking that big leap" I explained to her.

"That might not be such a bad idea, but are you two sure you can last that long; I saw how you and Luke were going at it last night and how he had one hand up your shirt and you took hold of his other hand to direct down your pants" she said with a smile as I blushed a deep red. "Even Kuriko and Ken are having a difficult time waiting until after she graduates from high school."

"Isn't she going to college?" I asked of Mom in surprise; she'd always spoken of going when we were younger.

"She was, but once she and Ken are married, his parents are retiring and expect them to take over the lab" she told me and I turned to think about it.

"Well, I guess it does make a little sense, after all, there have been less and less calls for the Powerpuffs Z to save the city since Blade killed Mojo Jojo" I replied after a few minutes of quiet contemplation.

"Do you promise to have Luke connect us via video-conferencing?" Mom then asked of me.

"Hai, Mom, I promise. You can even make the request of Luke personally and I won't be offended" I told her as we embraced each other; our argument was finally settled.

Kaarii's POV

I was busy packing my suitcase as I was supposed to be spending the holiday with Mom and Chico while Dad sat upon my bedside, "Just remember to mind your manners while you're gone."

"I know that, dad" I replied with a sigh.

"And do your best to avoid any confrontations and arguments with your mother" he told me with a look of concern on his face.

"Believe me, that's one thing I intend to my very _best_ to avoid" I replied as I turned to look up at my katana that was hanging up on its display on my wall.

"You'd best leave that here, but don't forget your power belt" he told me as I turned back to face him as he tossed my belt to me.

"I have iie intention of forgetting that either" I replied as I clipped my belt around my waist.

"Are you sure you don't mind flying alone?" he then asked of me with a slight amount of concern.

"I'm sure and besides, I won't be completely alone for the first part of the journey; Luke and Momoko are going to be on the same flight to Hawaii. We'll part ways from there, but I don't foresee any difficulties with the second flight" I replied honestly, though I refrained mentioning that Clementina would also be keeping me company. Dad smiled as he nodded his head in agreement as I went over my checklist, "Let's see, am I forgetting anything? Clothes, both outer and under, check; power belt, check; toiletries, check; passport, check; it looks like I've got everything I need."

"Then let's go out for dinner before you have to take your shower and go to bed" dad offered and I took hold of his hand as we left out of my room.

Luke's POV

I had just finished packing my suitcase and was now helping out Isamu with some of her homework when I gave pause to ask of her and Ami, "Are you sure you don't want to come with us?"

"I'd love to, but I have three classes tomorrow and if I miss any of them, I'll fail" Ami replied honestly as she finished getting ready for bed.

"I only have one class tomorrow, but it's the same situation and then it's not until late in the morning; I'll have just enough time to drop you, Momoko, and Kaarii off at the airport" Isamu, already in her pajamas, added with a sigh.

"Daijobu, I'll be sure that Momoko and I throw in some extra hugs for you two" I then told them as I rose up to go to the furoba to get cleaned up before turning in for the night.

When I came out of the furoba, I found eight small packages on my bed each addressed from one of the girls to each of their family members. I'd have gone in to check up on them but I could already hear them crying themselves to sleep for not being able to see their family. Momoko had told me about how unhappy her mother was about her not being there to spend the holiday with them, so I decided that in the morning, I would tell the girls to spend the holiday with Momoko's family.

Awakening early the next morning, Isamu met me at the door as she was driving me, Momoko, and Kaarii to the airport; Ami was understandably absent as she had an early morning class to attend.

"I take it Ami has already left for school" I noted to her for the sake of conversation as we were heading over to pick up Kaarii since her place came before Momoko's.

"Hai, she said to say 'gomen nasai for not seeing you off' and that I was to give you a big hug from her before you departed" Isamu said quietly as she pulled up in front of Kaarii's house; Kaarii was already outside waiting for us with her father beside her.

"Ohayo; are you all ready to go, Kaarii-chan?" inquired Isamu putting on a happy attitude for Kaarii.

"Ohayo, are you daijobu, Isamu-chan; your eyes are a bit red" Kaarii greeted in return before addressing Isamu.

"Uh, I just had a bad night's sleep is all; I'll be better after a cup of tea or something" Isamu replied with a forced smile.

Kaarii and I knew she was lying, but we refused to say anything for the time being.

"Daijobu, you're all set; safe travels and…come home safely" Kaarii's father bid us and we all waved sayonara to him before driving off.

"For a moment there, I thought he was going to tell me to be a good girl" Kaarii complained from the back seat.

"He was, but he changed his mind at the last second" I told her with a light chuckle.

We soon pulled up in front of the Akatsutsumi home and all of us got out to be eagerly greeted by all of them, though Isamu remained by her minivan and stayed quiet. I knew it was bothering her to not be going with us, so I requested of Kakiko to speak with her alone for a moment.

"Is something wrong, Luke?" she asked of me.

"Hai, the girls are rather upset about not being able to accompany me and Momoko on our trip and as much as I'd like to postpone it for them, we can't due to our conflicting schedules. I was wondering if you'd do me a really big favor though" I explained to her while looking over at Isamu as she was leaning over the window frame of her van and trying to hide the fact that she was crying.

"You have but to name it, Luke-chan; we owe it to you" she replied sincerely.

"Would you mind watching over them while we're gone?" I asked of her.

"Of course, I'll even insist on their spending the holidays with us; they are like surrogate musume-tachi to me after all" Kakiko replied as she walked over to speak with Isamu.

As soon as Kakiko placed her hand against the back of Isamu's head, she turned around and embraced Kakiko tightly.

"It's not easy for them to not be able to accompany us, is it?" Momoko asked of me and I just shook my head in confirmation of her assumption.

"I wish our schedules would allow it, but they won't" I replied finally before we walked up to the back of the van to open the hatch and added Momoko's suitcase to the stack.

"Well, we'd best get a move on or you're going to miss your flight" Isamu said with the first real smile she had managed that morning.

We threw in as many hugs as our last few minutes would allow and were soon back on our way to the airport. Isamu pulled up to the drop-off point and helped us in unpacking our suitcases.

"Don't forget to give them all a hug from each of us" Isamu told me as we shared one more hug.

"I won't; Kakiko is going to be checking up on you two from time to time and I expect you two to spend the holidays with her and her family" I told her while holding onto her.

"We don't want to impose upon her goodwill" Isamu started to argue.

"She said that she's going to insist and I expect you two to be on your best behavior" I told her with a smile as we separated to look one another in the eyes.

"Could you bring back a souvenir for me; it doesn't have to be big or expensive as even a simple rock from the side of the driveway would suffice" she pleaded of me and I agreed.

"I'll call you when we're on our way back, daijobu?" I told her and she nodded her head in agreement.

"Well if you don't get going soon, you're not going to pass through security in time to catch your flight" she joked and I could see the tears brimming in her eyes again in spite of the smile on her face.

I kissed her on the forehead, picked up my bag, and with a wave, ran to catch up with Momoko and Kaarii while wiping a few of my own tears from my eyes.

Isamu's POV

I waved sayonara to Luke and the girls before climbing back behind the wheel of my van, started the engine and drove away to let the next vehicle into my spot. I drove around to the parking area where people were allowed to watch the planes come and go and, after turning off the engine, leaned down upon the steering wheel to have the much needed cry I had been holding back all morning. After some twenty minutes of crying, I was able to pull myself back together enough to drive to school since I didn't feel like going home just yet.

"Isamu-chan, nani are you doing here; classes aren't for at least another three hours" I heard my sensei ask as I was sitting in the classroom and crying into my arms while sitting at my desk.

"I didn't feel like going home" I answered her with a sniff and she set her books down on the desk beside mine to kneel down and wrap her arms around me.

"Gomen nasai, I wish there had been a way to give you the test earlier, but…"she let her voice trail off; I knew nani she was already going to say.

"But you can't make an exception for one student without making an exception for any of the others" I continued for her as I rose up. "Gomen nasai, I'm going to get something to eat."

She remained silent as I left out of the room and went to get back into my van. Driving off, I went to the small diner near the school where I was soon met by Ami; she'd already taken her first test of the day and didn't have another one for at least another hour and a half. We ate in silence and when we finished, I told her of how Kakiko-san was going to be checking up on us and that we were expected to spend Christmas with her family.

"I think that will be a good idea; she considers us her surrogate musume-tachi so it only makes sense" Ami replied quietly and I nodded my head before we drove back to school.

After taking my only test for the day, I started to return home when I stopped as I began to pass in front of the Akatsutsumi home and backed up to park in front; I wanted to see if Kakiko-san was still home. Later that afternoon, Ami would soon follow and both Kakiko and Hachizou insisted on us packing up our own suitcases to move in with them until Luke came home and we readily agreed. Even Kuriko was happy to have us as her oneesan-tachi.

Momoko's POV

Passing through security proved easier than we had expected until Luke's turn came around and both Kaarii and I shared a light chuckle as Luke crossed his arms in annoyance while security went over him to see nani metal he had on him since all other metal items were already in a bucket.

"Uh, it's his hands that are setting the scanners off" announced one security officer while indicating the x-ray scan of him and they all stared at it in a mixture of amazement and concern.

"Gomen nasai, but I can't remove them either" Luke said with measured patience and he was soon sent over to join me and Kaarii where we waited for him to get dressed while still mildly snickering at him until he gave me a gentle pop on my o-shiri.

"Hey, nani was that for?" I demanded of him.

"Nani was nani for; I didn't do anything, I was tying my shoes" he replied and now Kaarii was left to snicker at both of us.

"Come on you two, I want to get to our gate before the plane leaves" she gently reprimanded us.

"Relax, Kaarii-chan; our flight hasn't even arrived yet" Luke said as he passed us our suitcases.

We then went to get a light breakfast together before heading over to the seating area for our gate and waited for our flight to arrive.

Forty-five minutes later, as both me and Kaarii were napping against Luke's shoulders; our flight arrived and he gently shook us awake as we had to get in line to find our seats.

"Can we sit behind the wings, Luke-kun?" Kaarii asked since she liked to watch the wings' mechanics work.

"I think it would be more prudent to sit as close to the front as possible so we can disembark easier, but if you really want to sit behind the wings, that's daijobu with me, too" I replied while trying to be fair.

"Tell you nani: we'll ride behind the wings for this part of the journey and when Momoko and I leave off on the second part, we'll sit nearer to the front" Luke suggested and we eagerly agreed as we were walking down the ramp to board the plane.

We quickly found our seats and allowed Kaarii to take the window seat so she could watch the wings with me sitting beside her and letting Luke take the aisle seat as he joked, "Onegai let us know if the wings try to fall off or anything."

"Very funny, Luke-kun" Kaarii replied sarcastically and we all had a good chuckle off of it.

Kaarii gazed out the window during the first part of the flight until we got out over the ocean and then decided to take a nap which I soon joined her in while leaning my head against Luke's shoulder. Of course, we were both jerked away when the plane encountered some turbulence and when things finally settled back down, we fell back to sleep.

Luke was soon shaking us both awake when the 'fasten seat belt' sign came back on as we were getting ready to land. Kaarii was once again gazing out the window watching how the plane's wings also acted as part of the braking system while the pilot also threw the engines into reverse to help slow us down and we were soon taxiing up to the gate.

Kaarii quickly bid us sayonara and a safe journey as her flight was due to leave in about half an hour and she needed to get over to the other side of the terminal. Luke paused her long enough to give her a kiss on the forehead as we both bid her safe travels before heading over to our next gate at a much slower rate since our flight wouldn't arrive for at least two more hours.

We then decided to get some lunch before heading over to our next gate. When we arrived, Luke and I decided to have a little surreptitious make-out session behind a sign when our flight was soon announced. Luke and I were amongst the first few to board after families with children and the handicapped and we soon found our seats really close to the door.

We were getting close to Townsville when an announcement was made that the pilot was engaging the 'fasten seat belt' sign once again as we were about to encounter some heavy turbulence due to a blizzard over the area.

"Can we land during such conditions?" I asked of Luke concernedly.

"Depends on the severity of the storm" he replied as he signaled to one of the flight attendants to ask the inevitable question that was on everyone's minds.

She then walked up to the front of the plane as the pilot began announcing the conditions, "Hang on folks, we're going to try landing despite conditions as we're getting a little low on fuel, so please remain seated with seats in their upright conditions and seat belts fastened."

I reached over to take hold of Luke's arm for reassuring and he placed one hand over both of mine with a smile before turning back towards the front of the plane. The landing was rough and the plane had much difficulty stopping in spite of the pilot's best efforts, but we were finally able to come up to our gate safely. As soon as the ramp was in place, the door was opened, and we were allowed to start disembarking, I virtually ran Luke over getting off of the plane and into the terminal before collapsing to my knees and breathing heavily.

"That was a bit unnerving, wasn't it?" Luke asked once he finally caught up with me with both of our coats and suitcases in his arms.

"Gomen nasai, but for a moment I thought I was going to soil my underwear, though when I finally got into the terminal, I didn't feel like having to go" I replied as I slowly stood up and felt unfortunately wet.

Luke didn't say anything, he just set my suitcase down and wrapped his jacket around me as I slipped a hand into my bag and extracted some clean underpants and rapidly changed them before disposing of my soiled ones in a trash can.

When I came back out of the oteari after freshening up, Luke was talking with the maintenance crew as they were cleaning up my mess as the guy was saying, "Frankly I don't blame her; landings like that are rough enough to make any sane person soil themselves."

"Gomen nasai" I apologized while wiping a couple of tears from my eyes.

"No worries, ma'am; I've cleaned up a whole lot worse over the years I've worked here" he said with a dismissive smile as Luke and I began to walk away.

We arrived at the exit, but iie one was there to greet us and I turned to look up at Luke in wonderment as he said, "Maybe they're stuck in traffic or something."

"It'll be a miracle if we're not all stranded here until after the storm" we heard one person say.

"Unless you have a snowmobile" offered another.

"I doubt even then; you can't see a foot in front out you out in that mess" noted the first once more before turning and walking back into the terminal.

Luke and I then turned to approach a small kiosk and ordered two hot chocolates and decided to sit down together on a warm bench seat while waiting out the storm. I was lying on my side, curled up, and with my head resting against Luke's leg taking a nap when we were soon being shaken awake.

I glanced up in hope of seeing Luke's father and his imoto-tachi, but instead, it was a security guard telling us, "Sorry to disturb your rest, folks, but I have to ask you to move along."

"Has the storm broken yet?" Luke asked of him in annoyance.

"Not yet, but you can't stay here" he replied and I looked up at him with a glare.

"And just where are we supposed to go?" I asked of him while struggling to hold my temper in check.

"Leave them be; we're going to have to make this place into an emergency shelter for the night" spoke up another security guard, the first one's supervisor.

"Nani time is it?" I then asked of Luke.

"It's almost nine" he told me as my stomach began growling.

"Don't worry, I've informed a few of the restaurants in the terminal that we would be acting as a shelter for the night and many of them are remaining open to help out" the senior guard informed us as we rose up to go get something to eat.

We were just getting ready to enjoy our dinner when the power went out; fortunately though, the emergency lights turned on and the backup generators kicked in to offer the terminal some power.

"The temperature is dropping like a rock; we'll be in the minus teens by midnight" I heard one of the workers say to another.

"We won't last long without heat" I said to Luke.

"How many people are here?" Luke asked of a security guard who was passing by.

"We've got about a two thousand people in here" the guard replied.

"Which of these small stores is big enough to hold that many people?" Luke then asked as he was getting an idea.

"Neither of them, our best bet is to let everyone sleep out here in the terminal" the guard informed us.

"That's not going to help us to stay warm for very long is it?" I asked of Luke in concern of everyone's health.

"Iie, it isn't; unless some of the souvenir shops don't mind letting us borrow some of their excess clothing inventory and judging by the signs that they're putting up, they're not going to be that generous" Luke replied as he indicated that the stores were putting up signs reading, 'Price increase on all long sleeved shirts, jackets, and coats'.

Needless to say, all of those who could afford the exorbitant prices were quickly gathering up as many as they could while Luke and I remained off to the side and out of the way. Once everyone had settled down for the night, Luke and I cuddled up together to sleep lightly, however, at around midnight, we were awakened by the sound of a loud crack and we glanced up at the ceiling to notice a large crack was forming in the roof.

"The good news is that the storm has stopped, the bad news is that in a about five minutes, we're going to be smothered and buried under a pile of debris and snow" noted one of the guards as he was shining his flashlight up at the ceiling as he watched shooters running out from the main crack.

"Iie time to waste by hiding" I noted as Luke nodded his head and we both transformed into our alternate identities right there in front of the security guard.

"I'm going to be low on energy in a few minutes, so do your best to get everyone cleared to the perimeter" Blade told us and we began awakening people to get them to move while Blade charged up some energy into a large energy orb

"What do you mean move to the perimeter; I'm going anywhere!" argued a few people while many others were willing to cooperate.

"You will if you don't wish to buried under a pile of rubble and snow; the ceiling is about to collapse!" I shouted in return as I picked up a couple of children in my arms and began to carry them to a safer area.

"Hey wait; what is that fool doing?" asked a couple of other people as they indicated Blade as he was doing his best to form as large an energy orb as possible.

"Are you nuts; you're going to blow out the ceiling if you aren't careful!" shouted one woman as she began to try and get into Blade's face.

"Better that he blow it out, than for it to come crashing down on your head" I told her firmly as I stepped between them and indicated the spot on the ceiling where it was within mere moments of crashing down.

"Nova Force" Blade called out as he launched the orb up into the ceiling and rendering the rubble that was starting to come down into mere dust just before it impacted with the ceiling and blew it straight up and out so that not even the snow could come crashing down upon us.

Blade dropped to his knees while breathing heavily from the exertion and I quickly ran up to him as I inquired, "Are you daijobu, Blade?"

"Just a little tired is all, but I'll be daijobu. However, I just hope iie one was injured as I can't heal any wounds or anything until I can get some sunlight" he replied with a yawn as he rose up and we gathered up our luggage to move to a different part of the terminal.

"Now what are we supposed to do to stay warm?" someone shouted out accusatorily to us as we were passing.

"Sumimasen for saving your sorry o-shiri; maybe you'd have liked to have been buried under the however many tons of ceiling and snow that was the roof!" Blade shot back as he wrapped his arm around my waist and led us over to another part of the terminal to snuggle up together for the remainder of the night.

Fortunately for me and Blade, he had just enough solar energy still in him to keep us warm for the night as iie one else would join us. In the morning, we stretched out and headed off towards his family's home.

We were high overhead when we looked down to see one of his imoto-tachi shoveling snow from the walkway while another one was doing the same but of the driveway. There was another one, though barely noticeable against the white as she wore white and had white hair and was fussing back at her sisters in Nihon-go, "_Come on, get the lead out; we've got to go meet oniichan and giri no oneesan at the airport_!"

"Bell, how many times do we have to tell you: speak English!" one of the others shot back in annoyance.

She just turned and flipped her scarf back over her shoulder to block out the cold wind as she began frantically shoveling once again. I wanted to say something, but Luke signaled for me to remain silent as he led me down to the back door where he knocked gently.

Utonium-san answered the door and was about to greet us loudly when Luke signaled for him to remain quiet as he didn't wish to let the girls know we were there just yet. We quietly slipped down into the basement laboratory where Blade was allowed to stand in front of an artificial solar lamp to absorb as much solar energy as he possibly could while Utonium-san and I enjoyed a cup of hot tea.

"You know the girls are really going to be excited when they see you two" Utonium-san informed us with a bright smile.

"And I'm going to enjoy spending some time with them once I finish with this sunlamp" Blade said as he was still absorbing the energy.

Just then we heard a buzzing sound and Utonium-san said to us, "That sounds like the hot-line."

We heard one of the girls fly in and rapidly answered the phone, "Yes Mayor? The Gangrene Gang; we're on it! Bonbon, Bell, come on, the Gangrene Gang is up to no good again!"

"_But we're supposed to clear the driveway to go and pick up oniichan and giri no oneesan_" Bell protested loudly in Nihon-go.

"Bell, speak English; we don't understand Chinese!" shouted Bonbon in anger.

"Come on Bell, we'll pick up big brother and our future sister in-law on our way back, alright? And it's Japanese, not Chinese, Bonbon" Bloom said while trying to reason with her sister.

"Fine" Bell spoke in pure English and even I could sense her frustration with not being allowed to speak Nihon-go.

"Do you think we can follow them?" I asked of Blade and he nodded his head in agreement.

"But let's allow them a head start and we'll do our best to remain out of sight unless they require any assistance" Blade replied before we took flight to follow after them.

When we arrived on the scene, we spotted the girls under heavy fire of snowballs while two of the Gangrene members were forming a much larger snowball up on a ridge which they were planning to roll down the hill to squash the girls underneath. I wanted to get involved right then, but Blade held me in place. Sure enough, the larger ball was rolled down the hill to build up in size and landed upon the trio to hold them in place.

"Now, let's see…ah-ha, here we go; oh good, the white one; she'll be really fun to humiliate since she can't speak English" their leader proclaimed as he held her down and began to undress her.

His companions then tied her to a post as their leader picked up her belt and began to take some practice swings when I noticed Blade losing his temper.

"Heh-heh-heh; step clear boys, and I'll begin making this little brat sorry she ever crossed us" their leader inquired as I shot forward, sliced Bell free, and snatched her up in my arms to carry her away.

"Do you know what happens to a cold creep who tries and hurt my little sister when he's subjected to intense sunlight? The same thing that happens to everything else" Blade said as he pulled back his hands and gathered energy into the before thrusting them forward as he called out, "Solar Flare!"

Needless to say, the Gangrene Gang wasn't quite very green anymore as they stood there in intense pain of their severe sunburns, but when Blade pulled his sword and pointed it right at the five of them, they all turned and took off running for their lives. I then began dressing Bell while Blade unburied his other two imoto-tachi.

"_Blade, her socks and underpants are missing_" I noted as I clutched Bell close to me as she was shivering.

"_That hentaisha baka leader of theirs must have pocketed them_" he said with an annoyed growl as he extracted the other two girls and picked them up in his arms. "_Let's get these three home and into the o-furo before they catch a cold_."

We then quickly flew back home where we were met by Utonium-san and quickly shown to the furoba where he started the water till it reached the desired temperature and then began to fill it with hot water while Blade and I began undressing the girls. Blade reached to remove Bonbon's and Bloom's underwear when they quickly took hold of them with looks of concern on their faces.

"You can't really blame them, Blade; you are a guy after all" I noted to him and he nodded his head in agreement before turning the water off and exiting out of the room so as to allow me to finish stripping the girls and began to scrub them up.

As I settled the last Bonbon into the hot water, I heard Bell tiredly say, "_We've still to pick up oniichan and giri no oneesan from the airport_."

"_Iie, you don't_" I informed her as I ran a hand through her long hair.

"Speak English, Bell" moaned Bloom as she held her head in one hand from a headache.

"_I'll ask Luke to bring you some children's aspirin_" I replied in Nihon-go and she looked up at me in confusion as I stepped over to the door.

"_It's kept in the medicine cabinet in the furoba_" Luke replied and I walked over to the cabinet over the sink and looked at the medicines inside with a bit of confusion.

"_Bell-chan, which of these is the children's aspirin_?" I inquired in Nihon-go.

"_That one with the pink label_" she replied also in Nihon-go and both of her sisters were looking from me to her and back again in complete confusion.

"I must have hit my head harder than I thought because both of them are speaking a different language" complained Bonbon to Bloom.

"Wait, if you both speak Japanese, then does that mean…*gasp*…are you our future sister in-law?" Bloom asked in surprise as she stared up at me.

"Hai, that's me" I replied with a smile to her, half in Nihon-go and half in Ei-go.

"_Where's oniichan_?" asked Bell of me.

"_I'm right here, Bell-chan_" Luke replied as he entered the furoba and picked up a towel to start drying her off with as she began crying over his shoulder.

"So where are Ami and Isamu?" asked Bonbon in wonderment.

"They couldn't make it because their college schedules wouldn't allow it, but they did send along a few extra hugs for all three of you" I replied for Luke as I pulled Bonbon up out of the water to begin drying her off while Bloom insisted on doing herself.

"_Where are my panties and socks_?" Bell asked as Luke was dressing her.

"That hentaisha baka that was going to try beating you must have pocketed them" Luke explained to her.

"Great, now that's a set from each of us that that stupid pervert stole from us" Bonbon said in frustration.

"Yeah, and he's probably showing them off as trophies to all of the other villains in Townsville just to show how he humiliated us" Bloom added with a sniff.

"Hai, well, we'll just see who is the humiliated one when the other villains see his third-degree sunburn" I noted with a light giggle.

Ace's POV

I felt rather ridiculous having to go to the big meeting of Super Villains of Townsville with bandages wrapped around my face, arms, and hands, but still I knew I had to show up in order to even be considered one of the top members. Fortunately, I had that little brat's panties and socks in my pocket to show how well I went about humiliating her; I was three for three now which should put me at the top of the list of 'Best Villains' list.

We all gathered together and paid our usual moment of silence to both Mojo Jojo and Butch that we always did at the beginning of our meetings.

I noticed that Fuzzy was absent again, but that held little surprise since he tended to hibernate during the winter months. Brick and Boomer sat across the table from me while Princess sat to the right of the head of the table with Him presiding over all of us; the Amoeba Boys sat at the end of the table.

"Alright, gentlemen…and lady, it's time to put your cards on the table" Him announced and we all showed or successes for the month.

"Read 'em and weep; I just scored the third and final humiliation of the new Powerpuff Girls" I announced as I threw the girl's underpants and socks onto the table.

"Child's play; you should have brought us three vials or even three tissues with their 'first blood' on them for proper humiliation" Him said with a dismissive wave of his claw.

"Good luck with that one; no one is going to be able to get within ten feet of them since you-know-who is back in town" noted Brick smartly.

I noticed Princess's cheeks turn red as she feigned innocence as she inquired, "To whom are you referring to, Brick?"

"You know who I'm talking about, Princess; your cheeks give it away. Though when I get you home tonight, I'm going to make sure your other set of cheeks are equally red if not redder" Brick replied with a growl; it was common knowledge that they were having an affair together and Brick hated it whenever she thought about another guy.

Boomer was his usual silent self while all of this went on, but then he rarely ever spoke. As for Him, he just remained aloof of it all.

"We managed to swipe this here balloon" proclaimed the leader of the Amoeba Boys proudly.

"And on 'free balloon' day, too" noted Princess with an evil grin and the Amoeba Boys bowed their heads in shame.

"And what of you, Princess; what grand feat have you performed recently?" I inquired hoping to belittle her in some way.

"I just managed to swindle the government out of another million for a faux project that my company isn't working on; I really just took the money to buy myself a small yacht as a dinghy for my mega-yacht" Princess said triumphantly.

"Very well, you are all dismissed until next month" proclaimed Him as he dismissed us while putting another gold star beside Princess's name while putting up a silver one for me and we soon left.

Momoko's POV

After setting out the gifts under the tree, Luke and I turned in for the night to sleep in the bed of the sleeper-sofa.

I was awakened by the welcoming smell of pancakes, bacon, and eggs being cooked and so slipped out of bed while wrapping my robe around myself. When I went into the daidokoro, I spotted Luke and Bell working together on preparing breakfast for everyone.

"_Ohayo, Momoko-chan_" Bell greeted me happily and I gave her a good morning hug.

"_Mmm, breakfast smells truly delectable_" I said to Luke who smiled as he pressed the button on the coffee pot to start it brewing while also starting the tea kettle.

"_Breakfast should be done soon_" Luke informed me and I nodded my head as I got out three small glasses and poured the orange juice into them for the girls.

"_I take it that the others are sleeping in this morning_" I then noted until I heard the small footfalls of one of the other girls followed by the sound of sliding and a gentle thump before continuing on as Bonbon joined us.

"Where's your sister this morning?" Luke inquired of her and Bonbon just shrugged her shoulders.

"_She usually doesn't get up until the sun awakens her and since it's a cloudy day, she'll probably be in a grumpy mood once she does get up_" Bell replied honestly and in Nihon-go.

"First thing in the morning and she's at it again" Bonbon noted with mild annoyance.

"Well, Luke and I understand her perfectly, so there's iie need to worry" I replied mostly in Ei-go.

Soon Utonium-san entered the room carrying Bloom who was looking completely unhappy about being awakened and he set her down in her usual seat while proclaiming, "Wow, breakfast sure smells good this morning, but you didn't have to go through the trouble, Luke."

"It's iie problem, and Bell was already awake when I got up this morning, so we decided to make breakfast" Luke replied as he watched his father give me a kiss on the forehead.

"Bell, what were you doing up so early?" Utonium-san inquired of her.

"I had to use the oteari" Bell replied honestly, mostly in Ei-go.

"Finally, she speaks some English" noted Bloom sarcastically until Luke set down a plate in front of her.

Though still in our pajamas and robes, after breakfast, we all gathered around to open our presents, watching with greatest delight as the girls opened their presents from their oneesan-tachi. After all was said and done, we got dressed before cleaning up the wrapping paper.

Luke's POV

I was taking out the trash and recycling when a familiar voice from behind me said, "So, you've come back, I see."

"Konnichiwa, Him; here, I got you something too" I replied as I turned around and belted him in the mouth so that he was sent flying back a few feet from me.

"I guess I should have expected that" he replied heatedly while rubbing his chin.

"Leave my imoto-tachi alone or the next time we meet, you…will…_die_" I promised him in a wrath-filled voice.

He bowed his head and left after that and I returned inside to be signaled to remain quiet by my father as he indicated Momoko, Bell, Bloom, and Bonbon, curled up on the couch in front of the fireplace and taking a mid-morning nap.

Dad then signaled me to the kitchen where he and I sat down together as he inquired of me, "I couldn't help but notice that gorgeous ring upon Momoko's hand; does that mean what I think it does?"

"Yeah, dad; we're engaged to be married, though we're contemplating on whether or not to wait until either after we've graduated from college or to wait until we've at least been working for a year as it'll show a bit more stability. Though whenever I see Momoko in a bathing suit, I just want to rip it off of her and take her, but I push it aside for the sake of properness" I replied with a smile to him and he nodded his head in understanding.

"Well, whenever you two decide, please let us know so that we may be able to attend" he then added with a smile.

"Sure thing, dad" I replied and soon Momoko and the girls were awake.

"I want to be a flower girl!" proclaimed Bloom happily.

"I want to help carry the bridal train!" announced Bell excitedly.

"Can I be the ring bearer?" asked Bonbon, the typical tomboy.

We all shared a good heartfelt laugh then and we were soon making plans together, though there would have to be standbys for each of their positions in the event that they could make it.

Later on, Luke called home to my parents' house so as to set his computer up for a video conference and introduced everyone; the girls were very polite, but little Bell could hardly contain her excitement to have even more people to speak Nihon-go with.

A few days later and we were once again bidding our family a tearful goodbye, with Bell having the strongest difficulty letting go of Luke's leg as she was crying the heaviest.

"_Hey, I need you to do me a big favor and come out to Tokyo to visit with me sometime, daijobu_?" he explained to her as he knelt down and gave her a big hug.

"Here's you tanto" she said as she tried to hand the small dagger back to Luke.

"Keep it, it suits you and will also make a great accompaniment to your new mini buster sword" he told her as he kissed her on the cheek and I soon gave her one of my own before heading off to pass through security and thus return home.

"I really am going to miss those three imoto-tachi of yours" I noted to Luke with a smile and a light sniff as I wiped a few tears from my eyes.

"Hai, but we'll see them again someday" he replied with a smile as he kissed me and we were soon boarding our flight to Hawaii and from there, home.

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><p><strong>Carly: Wow, this was a big one!<strong>

**TCW: And it would have been even bigger too, but I decided to give Kaarii her own chapter for when she visits home.**

**Carly: Good point; so nani is in store for the next chapter?**

**Next time…**

**Kaarii: You all get to join me as I return home to Sweetville!**

**TCW: All this and a whole lot more still to come!**

**Carly and Momoko: Meanwhile, be sure to leave us some nice reviews! **


	44. Reconciliation

**Arigato many times more for the grand reviews, friends! And now for us to join Kaarii as she and her mother must find a means of…**

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><p><strong>Reconciliation<strong>

I had just parted from Luke and Momoko and was now boarding the plane for Sweetville. It was a town full of both bitter and sweet memories from my childhood, though more bitter than sweet. I put my bag up in the storage compartment and then took my seat just behind the right wing of the aircraft.

Some teenage boy of about my age sat down beside me along with his slightly younger brother and both of them began trying to build up a conversation with me.

"If you don't mind, I'd like to watch the wing" I replied quite firmly and turned my attention out the window.

"I told you she probably already had a boyfriend" the younger of the two told his brother.

"And I'm not interested in trying to become her boyfriend either; I wanted to talk to her because I'm nervous" the elder boy replied back to his brother, catching my attention.

"What are you nervous about?" I asked of him in curiosity, though still exercising full caution.

"This is my first time flying" he replied and I smiled.

"Well, relax; I checked the weather report before boarding and they're talking about calm winds all the way to Sweetville" I told the guys before they were encouraged to move further to the back by their parents and thus leaving me to be alone again; though one can hardly consider oneself alone when they have a Sweets Spirit gazing out the window along with you.

"Nani time will we be arriving in Sweetville?" Clementina asked of me while settling into my pocket as the plane was starting to taxi out onto the runway.

"According to the schedule, just as the evening lights are starting to turn on" I replied gently enough for her to hear me, but iie one else could over the thundering engines as it was racing down the runway and we were soon airborne.

Once the plane leveled off, the attendants served refreshments of water, soda, and, for the adults, alcohol. I took some water and let Clementina take the first sip before downing the rest of it myself. When the attendants came back around to collect up the trash, I disposed of my cup and then took a nap with Clementina snuggled up in my hair, beside my neck. We slept through most of the flight, but as we were nearing Sweetville, we both woke up to gaze out the window as the sun was starting to set and the lights were starting to come on all over the cityscape.

Once we were down, at the gate, and allowed to disembark, I stepped off into the terminal and looked around for any signs of either my mother or Chico. I continued walking until I came to the 'passenger pick up' area and glanced around in hopes of spotting one of them, but still there was iie sign of them.

"Maybe they got lost" offered Clementina helpfully.

"I guess, though I told Chico which flight I was on and which terminal I would be arriving in" I replied to her as I sat down on a bench to wait for them.

"Do you have any more of those little graham crackers the flight attendants gave out" Clementina asked of me as her little tummy was growling at her.

"Hai, here you go" I replied as I extracted the bag from one pocket and slipped a cracker into my shirt pocket.

"Arigato, Kaarii-chan" Clementina said appreciatively as she received the cracker.

"Doitashimashite, Clementina-chan" I replied to her.

"Great, now she's talking to herself" I heard a familiar voice say in disdain.

"She probably has one of those blue-tooth devices in her ear or something" I heard another voice say as its owner approached. "Sumimasen, we're late, oneechan; but we stopped off at the wrong terminal the first time!" Chico exclaimed apologetically as he lifted me up off the ground in a big hug.

"You've been putting on the muscles, haven't you, Chico-chan?" I replied with a smile as he set me back down on the ground.

"Hi, Kaarii; it feels like an eternity since the last time I saw you" I then heard Mom say from behind Chico with a slightly uncomfortable look on her face.

"It's good to see you, too, Mom" I said with a little less excitement as I bowed politely to her.

"I bet you'd appreciate a nice warm meal and a hot bath right about now" she then said lightly as she was still uncomfortable speaking to me.

"Come on, oneechan; let's go home" Chico said as he picked up my bag and we all began walking back to the car.

"How is your father doing?" Mom asked of me in an attempt to be sociable.

"He's doing rather well and has even become quite famous since he was made official lawyer for the Powerpuffs Z" I replied honestly.

"So there really are nut-jobs like that in Tokyo; and here I thought it was just a television series or something" Mom noted with a scoff, unaware of the fact that she had just insulted me again, but I remained quiet.

"They're not nut-jobs, Mom; they're real superheroes who fight crime, monsters, and the like in order to protect the people of Japan" Chico spoke up in defense of the Powerpuffs Z while also refraining from disclosing the hidden truth of me being one of them.

"Well be that as it may, it doesn't detract from the fact that they don't help out anyone other than their own people. It wouldn't even surprise me if they were all a bunch of drug-addicts that the people are merely molly-coddling to hide the truth" Mom said in disbelief.

"If that's nani you wish to believe, then so be it" I said in finality while trying to hold back the anger that was brewing inside of me as we continued on in silence.

When we arrived home, Chico showed me up to my room while Mom went into her home office to finish up on some work.

"I think you should show Mom the truth" Chico informed me quietly.

"Why, so she can have me institutionalized, tested for every form of drug, and then left in a room with a straight-jacket on and electricity shot through me on an hourly basis? Gomen nasai, Chico-chan, but I'd just as soon not" I replied firmly and he nodded his head in comprehension before turning and leaving the room for me to settle in.

"Is your mom always like that?" inquired Clementina once Chico had closed the door behind him.

"Hai, she has always thought that if one doesn't behave or act towards nani the rest of the world considers normal, then you should receive mental evaluation to determine the root cause of the problem" I replied sourly.

"So then, if she were to hear you speaking to me when she can't see me, she'll instantly assume that you need such help? That's just silly if you ask me" Clementina said as she crossed her little arms while shaking her head.

"And yet, that's exactly nani would happen; sometimes I think she's the one who needs to be institutionalized" I replied as I pulled out a change of clothes and set them upon my bed for me to change into after my shower.

There was a knock on my door and Chico opened it, glanced around for a second, and then invited me down to dinner.

While quietly eating dinner, Mom turned and told me, "You and your imaginary friend may wish to take your baths after dinner; Chico can handle the cleanup."

"Nani are you talking about; I don't have an imaginary friend" I replied in confusion.

"Kaarii, there is nothing wrong with admitting to having one; it's really quite normal as long as you don't do it in public places or try placing any blame for your own faults upon them" she then tried telling me.

"Mom, I'm not some lonely little kid who speaks to imaginary people so as to have some kind of social interaction" I replied quite firmly.

"Very well then" she said in finality.

A little while later, I stood in the shower letting the hot water massage my shoulders while quietly mulling over my mother's arrogance while little Clementina sat on the rail just above my head.

"I guess speaking to me is going to put you in jeopardy of getting into trouble with your mom, isn't it?" she said to me after I cut the water off.

"Mom and I have fought over many things when I was younger; this is just her finding some excuse to pick back up where we left off" I replied to her as I began drying off.

"Maybe if you bake a cake as a way to reconcile with her, she'll decide to quit fighting with you and try to be a bit more understanding" Clementina offered and I gave pause to consider this for a moment.

"I guess it couldn't hurt to try" I finally replied to her as I began putting on my pajamas.

I was just passing the stairs to the lower level of the house when I paused to listen as I heard Chico arguing with Mom, "And didn't you tell us that Nana used to talk to herself all the time, especially whenever she was baking?"

"Yes, I did, but what of it?" Mom asked in slight confusion.

"I did some research into some of granddad's old novels, and in one of them was this interesting little tale of something called Sweets Spirits" I then heard Chico say and I froze up for a second.

"But that's just a fairy tale he wrote about from listening in on all of Nana's ramblings; there's no such thing as Sweets Spirits" Mom said in a placating manner.

"Well believing that Kaarii is speaking to a Sweets Spirit of her own is a lot better than what you're talking about; Kaarii isn't a mental case" Chico said in firm resolve.

"Chico, I've been studying psychology for many years now. In your Nana's case, she suffered from the slow progression of dementia and her ramblings were just the first manifestations of it. Kaarii is entirely too young to be showing even the most remote of signs of suffering the same ailment and the fact is that for her to be talking to herself is a sign of some other kind of neurologic disorder and that's why I'm trying to make an appointment for her to receive an M.R.I. I know this isn't easy for you, Chico; but the fact of the matter is: your sister is going insane" she told him and I just stood up and stormed off to my room.

"And I'm supposed to reconcile with that baka? It'd be easier to raise Atlantis" I noted in frustration as I settled into my bed.

"Maybe we should come up some other means of talking to one another" offered Clementina as she changed into her nightgown.

"Then she'll see and think I've only further lost my mind. I should have remained in Tokyo" I replied in frustration.

"I'm intrigued to see nani your ojiisan had to say about Sweets Spirits" Clementina then noted as a way to change the subject.

When I heard both mom and Chico turn in for the night, I clicked on my flashlight and both me and Clementina slipped out of our room to go downstairs in search of ojiisan's book. We found it sitting on the coffee table and opened to the section that we were interested in and so read the passage together quietly.

"He had a couple of things right, but for the most part he was way off on his facts" noted Clementina as we returned to our room.

"So I noticed; oh well, we'd better get some sleep. Oyasumi to amai yume, Clementina-chan" I said in reply.

"Oyasumi to amai yume, Kaarii-chan" she returned with a yawn as we both settled into our beds and fell asleep.

We awoke early the following morning and went down into the kitchen where we began to gather together the ingredients to make strawberry pancakes together.

Clementina began measuring out most of the ingredients while I finely sliced up the strawberries by hand. We then mixed the ingredients together and I soon began cleaning up most of the dishes. Pulling out the frying pan, Clementina began to wipe it down with some butter while I adjusted the burners, poured the batter onto the pan, and began the slow process of cooking the pancakes and flipping them over at just the right moment so as to keep them from burning.

Clementina then set up the table for me while I served the pancakes onto a few plates prior to setting them out onto the table while praising both of us, "We make a great team, Clementina-chan."

"Hai, indeed we do!" she replied as I placed a few small bits of pancake onto a miniature plate for her to enjoy.

Mom and Chico soon came down from their rooms and looked at the table in surprise before Chico said, "Wow, you've really outdone yourself, oneechan."

"Arigato, Chico-kun; how do you two like your eggs: scrambled or over-easy?"

"Over-easy" Mom replied as she gathered up a couple of glasses and began to pour us some orange juice to go with our breakfast.

"I like my eggs scrambled" Chico replied as he sat down at the table with a smile on his face.

It was hard, but Clementina and I refrained from speaking to each other through it all as we had iie wish to further encourage my mother into thinking that I was nekkyo or something.

"With your permission, I'd like to borrow the kitchen some more after breakfast; there's a recipe in one of your cookbooks that I remembered reading once and would like to try it" I then told mom as we ate our breakfast.

"If it's anything like these eggs and pancakes, then by all means, help yourself" she replied, though there was still something in her voice that said that she was still concerned about my mental health.

After cleaning up from breakfast, I sat at the table reading through Mom's cookbook while writing out a list of ingredients that I would need for the recipe. Meanwhile, I could hear Mom and Chico having a quiet conversation in the living room and occasionally paused to listen in.

"How can you think she's crazy after her making a breakfast like that?" Chico asked of Mom in disbelief.

"I'm not going to call up the hospital to have the M.R.I. done, but I still don't like the idea of Kaarii talking to herself all the time" Mom replied in a calm voice.

"I've heard that sometimes it helps one to figure out the answer to a problem a lot easier to hear the sound of one's own voice than to just keep thinking on it over and over again in one's mind" he offered helpfully.

"Perhaps, but I'd still feel a lot more comfortable if she'd talk to me about it instead of trying to hide the fact" Mom noted to Chico honestly.

"Well given the past you two had, one can only understand why she would wish to refrain from discussing the topic with you" he noted a bit harshly.

"You do have a point there" she replied with a sigh.

"I need to run to the store to pick up a few things for the cake I'm planning on baking. Is there anything either of you need while I'm gone?" I then asked as I picked up the list of ingredients that I would need.

"Not at the moment" Mom replied as she turned to look up at me with a fake smile.

"Do you need a lift, oneechan; I don't mind driving you to the store" Chico offered helpfully.

"Iie arigato; I'd much rather walk since it's such a nice day" I replied as I dashed for and out the door to walk to the grocery store.

When I arrived at the store, I noticed a group of hoodlums from Bitterburg standing in front of the building and causing trouble. I dutifully ignored them until one of them decided to block my way.

"Well, well, well; the prodigal child has returned" the guy noted to me with a derisive grin.

"Get out of the way or I will not be held responsible for my actions" I threatened the guy as I sent him a dirty look.

"Hey, weren't you Daisuke's punching bag?" asked another guy as he sided up to his friend.

"I was, but since he was sent to the crematorium, I took up with another guy, namely, the guy who helped send Daisuke there" I replied firmly and they suddenly backed away a step.

They were about to move back in when we all heard a police siren whirl once as a squad car pulled up while the officer behind the wheel said, "Hey, leave that girl alone and get back across the river to where you belong before I'm forced to take you in."

"We were just leaving" the first guy replied while sending a scowl towards the officer as he and his companions began to gather up their bicycles and rode off.

"And what about you?" the officer inquired of me.

"I'm just heading inside to do some shopping; arigato for the assistance by the way" I then replied with a polite bow to the officer.

"I'm sorry?" he asked of me and I just waved to him before running inside to begin my shopping.

"Who were those baka-tachi?" Clementina asked of me with a soft frown on her face.

"Just nani you called them" I whispered to her since she was sitting upon my shoulder.

"They apparently knew Daisuke" she then noted to me.

"They used to hang out together. Can we drop it, onegai? I don't wish to dwell on bad memories" I told her as we arrived in the baking aisle.

"Let's see: honey, check; powdered sugar, check; caramel, check; four circular pans in different sizes, check; that looks like just about everything on the list except for cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla" Clementina said as she read over my shopping list while I stood in front of the spices.

"Cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla extract; there, that completes the list" I announced to her despite the strange looks others were sending me.

"You should always talk to yourself, sweetheart; you meet a better class of people that way" noted one elderly woman to me as she was passing by and I just smiled in return while sweat-dropping.

When I finally arrived back home with the items I purchased, I set them out on the counter before removing the labels from the pans I bought and washed them. I then set them upon the stovetop as I opened up all of the other items and began measuring them out according to the recipe with Clementina helping by bringing me some of the measuring cups and spoons.

"Let's see, two cups of flour for the base cake, one cup for the top tier…" I then began to do the math for the two middle cakes and soon had all of the appropriate measurements adjusted for the final product and we began measuring out most of the ingredients together.

"These honey cakes sound absolutely delicious" noted Clementina to me as she passed me a plastic knife so as to pour the honey out of the small jar I bought.

"I know, and if I'm right, then this newer version should be truly decadent when we're finished" I replied as I turned on the electric mixer to low so as to blend the ingredients into a fine liquid.

I then carefully poured the batter into the four pans while letting Clementina set the timer on the oven which had been pre-heating to the correct temperature. I then began to wash the dishes I had used and even made sure to wash out the honey jar so that it could be added to the recycling.

I soon gathered together the ingredients to begin making some icing for the cakes from scratch and, with Clementina helping further, we soon had three types and colors of icing to use on the cakes. Just as we had finished the timer on the oven went off and we pulled the cakes out with some potholders and set them upon the stove.

"Would you bring me a toothpick, Clementina-chan?" I asked and Clementina brought be one to use so as to make sure the cakes were completely baked through.

"Alright Kaarii, I've been more than tolerant of this all morning, but now I expect an honest answer: _who_ are you talking to _this_ time?" Kaarii's mother complained, as she walked in to the kitchen.

"Oh, great... I forgot that Sweets Spirits are intangible to those who don't one themselves..." I muttered with an exasperated sigh.

"Well?" Mom asked impatiently.

"Nani; can't a girl just have a pleasant case of nostalgia while her mother does not make any crude remarks?" Kaarii inquired, albeit rather impudently.

"You're being evasive, now I expect an answer!" Mom shouted.

"Fine, I'm talking to my Sweets Spirit, Clementina" I replied back, just shy of shouting.

"I knew it, I just knew it! I let your stupid father drag you off to a foreign country and now you've gone completely crazy! I don't know what I'm going to do now! I should have you institutionalized!" Mom shouted in anger.

I looked down at the one cake I had already de-panned and smiled as I replied, "Well, if you think I'm nekkyo now, then wait until you see this…" and I shoved the unfinished cake into her face before storming out the front door.

Chico's POV

I heard the blow-up between oneechan and Mom from up in my room and descended the stairs in time to see Kaarii storm out the door and slammed it shut behind her. I then went into the kitchen where I saw Mom picking bits of cake out of her hair and headed for the utility closet to retrieve the broom and dustpan to sweep up the chunks of cake.

"You can't say you didn't deserve that" I then noted to Mom after a couple of minutes.

"I am in no mood for your back-talk, Chico" Mom said quite firmly as she swept the cake up into the dustpan I was holding.

"You know, a lot of things change over eight years, Mom. And Kaarii has changed a lot. Her baking has gotten better than it was before, and she has a better and kinder boyfriend now" I started to tell her.

"I hope Daisuke doesn't find out. I mean, it's bad enough Kaarii has lost her mind, but he'll kill her for taking up with another guy" Mom said with a frustrated sigh.

"Daisuke's dead, Mom" I informed her.

"What, when did that happen?" she asked in surprise.

"He escaped from prison and did indeed try to kill Kaarii, but her new boyfriend and another friend rendered him comatose and, since his family had no wish to spend any money on him, he wasn't allowed to be placed onto life support and so died over time. Last I heard, he was then cremated and then used as fertilizer in the prison's garden" I told her honestly.

"I just hope he isn't another punk" Mom then said in reference to Kaarii's new boyfriend.

"He isn't; have you heard of Professor Hector Jones?" I asked of her.

"Who hasn't heard of him? His archeological exploits are world renowned! I met his wife once, she's a Pâtissière and a really good one at that; but why would you want to know that?" Mom replied in curiosity.

"Their son Josh is also learning to become a Pâtissière and he's Kaarii's new boyfriend" I told her in finality.

"Maybe she isn't so crazy after all" Mom noted quietly.

"She's also a member of one of the top teams in all of Japan and now, as such, has something that cannot be removed from her" I then told her.

"What is that supposed to mean, son?" Mother inquired.

"If the town has any problems with robberies or the like, you'll see what I mean" I replied wisely.

"Hasn't Kaarii been in enough legal situations already?" Mom inquired a little annoyed while combing more crumbs from her hair.

"Oh, she's getting involved alright. It's just that she's not getting _into_ the trouble, she's actually doing a fantastic job at _stopping_ it" I said.

"Would you mind providing some clarification, please?" Mom requested.

"Like I said, you'll see" I said while winking at Mom.

She started to say something in reply when she carefully looked at a small bit of flour on the counter and, there in the middle of it, were two tiny shoe prints and she turned to say to me, "You're seeing this too, right?" she asked of me and I nodded my head in acknowledgement. "I do believe I owe your sister a sincere apology; come on, let's go find her."

Kaarii's POV

I was walking through town, quietly venting my frustration towards my baka of a mother while Clementina flew beside me with a concerned look on her face. I was just getting ready to cross the street and over to the park when I heard many emergency vehicles approaching and quickly gave pause to watch as ten squad cars raced by.

"Something serious must be up" I noted aloud to Clementina and she quickly nodded her head in agreement as she watched me remove my compact from my power belt.

"Feminine Bridgette" I called out as I began a dance like performance while wearing a pink leotard. Two snaps of my fingers and a pink vest appeared over my and twirling my hands about my waist she formed a pink micro-skirt around my waist. Kicking my feet up in the air, my white sneakers were replaced with pink ones and, just as quickly, black fingerless gloves appeared on my hands and I finished in a slightly sassy pose.

Clementina entered the pocket of my vest just as I was getting ready to take off and flew after the squad cars to see nani was going on. When I arrived, I noticed all of the cars were surrounding the front of the main bank and decided to touch down quietly behind an officer to listen in on nani all was going on.

"I wouldn't get too close, young lady; things could get extremely dangerous any minute" an officer who had seen me said in warning.

"Can you tell me nani is happening?" I asked of him innocently.

"Some punks from Bitterburg are inside and said to be armed and dangerous; they've even taken hostages" the officer replied with a sigh of aggravation.

"Damn it; the S.W.A.T. team can't be here for another three hours" I heard the police chief curse and I realized just how severe the situation really was.

"Maybe we don't need to worry too much after all. Hey, kid; aren't you one of the Powerpuff Girls?" inquired another officer of me and I nodded my head in acknowledgement.

"Are you sure; she looks more like a costume player if you ask me" the police chief said in uncertainty until I lifted up off the ground to fly over to and landed upon the roof of the bank. "I stand corrected."

I slipped in through the roof door and quietly snuck down the stairs to the bank lobby and peaked through the door to see all patrons lying on the ground, the tellers hiding behind the counter, and the four punks I had run into earlier standing around with guns in their hands; the leader of the group even had a semi-automatic weapon in his grasp. Glancing around, I spotted the circuit breaker and slashed through the metal tubes which surrounded the electric wires and thus cut the power amidst light screeches of surprise and concern.

"What the hell is going on?" I then heard one of the crooks ask of his companions.

"The fool cops must have cut the power in hopes of scaring us out or something" replied their leader in scorn.

I then quietly slipped into the lobby and stealthily approached the first of the four and quietly knocked her out by hitting her in the back of the head with the hilt of my katana. I then ducked down behind a large planter so as not to be seen just yet.

"Hey, what the hell happened to Meg?" noted one of the guys as he approached his unconscious friend while I slipped around to keep out of sight.

"Probably fainted under the tension; the wimp" scoffed the group leader with little concern.

"Wait a second; I thought I heard something" noted the other girl as she approached the door to the office I was hiding within as I ducked behind the door.

I quietly closed the door behind her and jumped up to use a windmill kick to knock her out before hiding back behind the desk.

Someone soon entered the room and looked down at his female companion and noticed the coffee mug on the floor as he scoffed, "Idiot, you knocked yourself out by tripping on a mug."

"What's going on in there?" the group's leader asked in annoyance.

"Nothing; the fool tripped on a coffee mug and hit her head" the guy said as he exited back out the door.

"Man, this is the last time I let stupid girls in on a heist" the first guy replied in frustration.

"Ever notice how unusually quiet the cops are being? Do you think they're up to something?" the second guy asked of the first as I snuck up behind him and used the flat sides of my katana-tachi to knock him out.

"Who's to know with them…hey, where did you come from?" the guy started to reply when he turned around to see me standing behind him.

"From out of your worst nightmare, baka" I replied firmly as I sliced his gun in half with one sword and now held him in place with my other sword pressed against his neck.

I then indicated the door and he began to head towards the exit where, once we were out in the sunlight, I made him kneel on the ground so a couple of officers could arrest him.

"The others are still inside and unconscious" I informed the police chief as he walked up and thus indicated for more officers to enter the bank and to apprehend the remaining crooks.

"There you have it folks, live on KWTS-Channel 6 News! The four would-be bank robbers have just been taken into custody by the police after they were stopped and properly dealt with by what appears to be one of the Powerpuff Girls Z from Japan! Miss, would you care to comment on what happened in there?" a woman news reporter announced into a camera.

"Uh, iie, not at this point in time" I quickly replied while feeling both shocked and embarrassed by it.

"Now see, there's a girl you can believe in! What a way to stand up for womanhood!" I heard a familiar voice saying with excitement and pride.

'Oh iie, nani is Mom doing here?' I asked of myself as I began to try and back away only to be stopped as Chico was blocking my exit while smiling at me proudly.

"Do you have any idea as to what your exploits have done for women everywhere?" Mom asked of me as she came up and began going into how my good deed would affect Women's Rights, Women's Lib, and all of those other women's groups in a positive manner.

"Whatever you say, Mom" I commented in frustration as I had iie wish to continue listening her continue with her needless ramblings.

"What did you call me?" I then heard Mom ask of me in shock and I quickly realized the little slip-up I had just made.

Chico was thinking wildly of a way to explain my slight error but unfortunately for both of us, Mom recovered from her shock before either of us. She walked right up to me and firmly took hold of my ear as she glared down at me before demanding, "I'm waiting for an explanation, young lady!"

"Uh, Mom; I think we should wait until later to discuss this" Chico then said as he indicated the crowd that was starting to gather around us as well as the news reporter and her cameraman moving in closer to capture it all in full detail.

"Fine, get in the car right now; we will discuss this when I get you home" Mom said firmly.

"Iie arigato, I'll fly there" I replied firmly as I lifted up off the ground only for Mom to take hold of my ankle and brought me back down to terra firma against my better wishes and grabbed hold of my ear once again to force me towards and into the backseat of the car.

When we arrived home, Mom directed me to the sit on the couch while sending Chico to his room before she joined me in the living room where she said, "Well, I'm waiting for an explanation?"

"Nani is there to explain; I was asked to do a job and I did it" I replied firmly with my arms crossed.

"I don't mean about your crime fighting, although that is a part of it; I was referring to this new persona of yours" she replied firmly.

"I was struck by a white light that empowered me with the ability to become Bridgette, one of the Powerpuff Girls Z, and now use this new ability to help fight crime, monsters, and anything that would dare to threaten the innocent and bring villains to justice" I replied honestly.

"I knew it, I just knew it; you've gone completely nuts! Do you have any idea as the danger that you were in? You could have been killed!" she replied in a shout again.

"Oh, shut up, Mom! I've been doing this since my second year of middle school back in Tokyo! Why can't you just trust me anymore? Heck, if not for my superpowers, Chico would have been held for ransom at the hands of the Gangrene Gang if I hadn't tailed them! I help people and save lives, Mom! I've made many new friends and I even have a new boyfriend who also has superpowers much like mine and we both attend the same culinary school! So if you're going to keep treating me like I'm dark-hearted, then I'm going back to Tokyo, back to the people who truly care about me, and I'll even bring Chico to live with me even if I have to call up a friend and have him wire me the money to do so!" I shouted back vehemently before storming off to my room and slammed the door shut behind me.

Chico's POV

I heard all of the shouting from up in my room and after listening to Kaarii storm past my room to her own and slammed the door shut behind her, I decided to go and talk to Mom myself. I quietly slipped down the stairs to find Mom sitting on the couch with one hand placed upon her forehead and on the verge of tears.

"I think I'm partially to blame for some of this" I said to Mom as I sat down across from her.

"In what way, Chico?" she asked of me quietly.

"I withheld information from you about my visit to Tokyo. I had just stepped off of the plane when these five green guys rushed up and abducted me thinking that I was the American Prime Minister's son. They were planning on holding me for ransom even after finding out that I wasn't who they thought I was when Kaarii…Bridgette, broke in and began to attack them until she was about to kill their leader. I called to her to stop and when she listened to me, she then carried me home. I knew it was her as soon as she took me up in her arms, but I kept quiet about it so as to protect her secret. I also then decided to withhold this from you, as well" I told her in all honestly.

"So you knew all this the whole time and you kept it from me, that still doesn't excuse your sister's actions just now; I mean, she could have told me so that I wouldn't have been so worried or angry about it!" she replied heatedly.

"And you wouldn't have believed her, just like you didn't believe that there were Sweets Spirits until you saw those little shoe prints, and just like you said that you thought the Powerpuffs Z were just a bunch of drug-addicts that the people of Tokyo molly-coddle so as not to have them as a black-eye upon their society! That's the whole point of this, Mom: You don't believe anything until it hits you across the head! Look, I love you, Mom, but I also love my oneechan and if there is any way for her to keep her promise to bring me back to Tokyo to stay, then I will go with her just so I can feel like she and I are close siblings instead of acquaintances who live across the ocean from each other" I told her and she looked up at me as though she finally understood my feelings on the issue, too.

"I've been neglecting yours and your sister's feelings since before the divorce, haven't I? You're right; I'm a narrow-minded person who refuses to see the big picture until it slaps me across the face. But despite all of that, Chico, please…don't leave me to live alone" Mom replied as she rose up and knelt down beside me before she began crying into my lap.

"I don't want to, Mom. But if you two don't find a way to reconcile, you may very well miss out on one of the biggest and most important occurrences in Kaarii's life: her wedding" I told her as I gave Mom a big hug in return.

"I think there is, but I need your help to do it" Mom said as she rose up and I followed after her as she entered our personal library and began to collect up a bunch of cookbooks that had originally belong to our obaachan.

Together we boxed them up and Mom carried them up to Kaarii's room where she knocked on the door before calling in, "Kaarii, may I enter, please?"

I didn't expect her to cooperate, but Kaarii opened the door as she was packing up her things in preparation of leaving.

"I brought you something that I thought you may appreciate more than I ever could" Mom said as she set the box upon Kaarii's bed.

"These are obaachan's old cookbooks" Kaarii said quietly.

"Yes, she wanted them to stay in the family instead of being thrown out into the trash and I thought you might be able to use them" Mom informed her.

"Arigato, I'll treasure them and see to it that they are continued to be passed down from generation to generation" Kaarii replied honestly.

"I also wanted to apologize to you, Kaarii. I've been so simple and narrow-minded and blinded to the world around me that I couldn't bear to think of anything outside of the normal being able to exist. But today, I saw just this…twice" Mom started while tearing up.

"Hmm, what do you mean, 'twice'?" Kaarii asked in return.

Before answering, Mom took hold of Kaarii's hand and led her down to the kitchen where she indicated the two small shoeprints in the flour before both of them broke out laughing together. They then pulled themselves together long enough to hug each other as they both began crying upon the other's shoulder. Later that afternoon, Kaarii re-made her cake and shared it with all of us and we all enjoyed it immensely.

Mom and I tearfully saw Kaarii off at the airport and, for the first time in many years, I felt like we were a family once again.

Kaarii's POV

The plane touched down in Hawaii where I was to change flights to head on to Tokyo when a familiar voice called out, "Hey, stranger; long time iie see!"

Turning I looked up to see both Luke and Momoko approaching and we all three shared a hug together before moving on to catch our flight for home. But one thing that I felt had made this trip worthwhile the most was the fact that I finally felt like my mother was my friend once again now that we had reconciled our differences.

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><p><strong>Carly: So Kaarii and her Mom have finally reconciled!<strong>

**TCW: Hai, and I'm happy they did.**

**Carly: Likewise! So nani is in store for the next chapter?**

**Next time…**

**Isamu: Ami and I just can't stand the thought of not having Luke with us over the holidays.**

**Ami: So amidst our sadness, we temporarily move in with the Akatsutsumi family.**

**TCW: All this and still a WHOLE lot more still to come!**

**Carly and Momoko: Just be sure to leave us some nice reviews while you wait!**


	45. Surrogate Daughters

**Hey, thanks for the many wonderful reviews. For this next chapter, we will be joining Ami and Isamu as they become Kakiko's and Hachizou's…**

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><p><strong>Surrogate Daughters<strong>

It wasn't easy, knowing that Luke was in his room and packing up his suitcase in preparation of leaving for home the next morning when neither Ami nor I could tag along. We bore him iie grudge, but rather held it against our sensei-tachi and their stupid rule, 'Take and pass your tests or fail and come back next year to try again.'

We both pleaded and begged with our sensei-tachi to try and understand, just shy of getting down on our knees to do so, but they told us the same thing, 'We can't do for one student without doing for any of the others.' It was a pathetic excuse as far as I was concerned, but I had to see their point of view on the matter.

Even Luke had tried reasoning with them only to come out with similar results. We all knew that if he postponed his trip for our benefit, that neither he nor Momoko could come with us; that didn't sit well with us either. So, in spite of the emotional pain it was causing us, both Ami and I agreed that they should go ahead and spend the holiday with our imoto-tachi and our father.

Luke had recently finished packing his suitcase and was now helping me out with some of my homework when he gave pause to ask of me and Ami, "Are you sure you don't want to come with us?"

"I'd love to, but I have three classes tomorrow and if I miss any of them, I'll fail" Ami replied honestly, though, as per our agreement, she was hiding her real feelings.

"I only have one class tomorrow, but it's the same situation and then it's not until late in the morning; I'll have just enough time to drop you, Momoko, and Kaarii off at the airport" I added with a sigh, having a slightly harder time holding my feelings back.

"Daijobu, I'll be sure that Momoko and I throw in some extra hugs for you two" he then told us as he rose up to turn in for the night.

As soon as we heard him turn on the water, Ami and I ran to our room where we extracted the presents we had bought for our imoto-tachi and placed them upon Luke's bed before disappearing back into our room and climbed into bed together where we couldn't help but start crying ourselves to sleep.

Ami's alarm clock sounded off some thirty minutes before mine and I slowly glanced up at her tiredly as she began getting dressed while telling me, "Go back to sleep, Isamu-chan; my first test is in about an hour, so I'm heading off to school."

I tiredly nodded my head in understanding as I could still see the tears in her eyes as she left out of our bedroom door and soon left to catch the bus to school. When my alarm sounded, I rose up and began getting dressed myself since I was to drive Luke, Momoko, and Kaarii to the airport. When I approached the front door and collected my keys from the hook, I was soon met by Luke, carrying his suitcase and a bag with our gifts for our imoto-tachi inside of it.

We then left out the door and packed his bags into the back of my minivan before climbing into the car and drove off first to pick up Kaarii; she was also returning home to visit with her ototo, Chico, and their mother.

"I take it Ami has already left for school" he said quietly.

"Hai, she said to say 'gomen nasai for not seeing you off' and that I was to give you a big hug from her before you departed" I replied quietly as I pulled up in front of Kaarii's house; Kaarii was already outside waiting for us with her father beside her. "Ohayo; are you all ready to go, Kaarii-chan?"

"Ohayo, are you alright, Isamu-chan; your eyes are a bit red" Kaarii greeted in return before addressing me.

"Uh, I just had a bad night's sleep is all; I'll be better after a cup of tea or something" I replied with a forced smile; iie point in telling her the real truth just to spoil the others' good mood even though they sent me a look that said they knew I was lying but refrained from saying anything.

"Daijobu, you're all set; safe travels and…come home safely" Kaarii's father bid to Luke and Kaarii and we all waved sayonara to him before driving off.

"For a moment there, I thought he was going to tell me to be a good girl" Kaarii complained from the back seat.

"He was, but he changed his mind at the last second" Luke told her with a light chuckle.

We soon pulled up in front of the Akatsutsumi home and all of us got out to be eagerly greeted by all of them, though I remained by the minivan and keeping quiet until I found myself unable to hold back the tears anymore and so I leaned over the window frame of the driver's side door to hid my face.

After a while, someone approached and placed her hand against the back of my head to stroke it gently and I turned around to see Kakiko-san looking at me with a sympathetic expression on her face. Releasing the window frame of my car door, I embraced Kakiko tightly as I quietly released a few more tears into her shoulder.

Luke and Momoko were loading her bags into the back of the van when I finally managed to turn away from Kakiko-san with my first genuine smile for that morning as I announced, "Well, we'd best get a move on or you're going to miss your flight."

Arriving at the airport and, with Luke directing me, we soon pulled up to the drop-off area of the terminal and parked. Helping them unload their few bags, I told Luke, "Don't forget to give them all a hug from each of us" as we shared one more hug.

"I won't; Kakiko is going to be checking up on you two from time to time and I expect you two to spend the holidays with her and her family" he replied while holding onto me.

"We don't want to impose upon her goodwill" I started to argue.

"She said that she's going to insist and I expect you two to be on your best behavior" he told me with a smile as we separated to look one another in the eyes.

"Could you bring back a souvenir for me; it doesn't have to be big or expensive as even a simple rock from the side of the driveway would suffice" I pleaded of him and he happily agreed.

"I'll call you when we're on our way back, daijobu?" he then inquired of me and I nodded my head in agreement.

"Well if you don't get going soon, you're not going to pass through security in time to catch your flight" I joked as I could feel the tears brimming in my eyes again in spite of the smile upon my face.

Luke then kissed me on the forehead, picked up his bag, and, with a wave, ran to catch up with Momoko and Kaarii while wiping a few of his own tears from his eyes.

I waved sayonara to Luke and the girls before climbing back behind the wheel of my van, started the engine and drove away to let the next vehicle into my spot. I drove around to the parking area where people were allowed to watch the planes come and go and, after turning off the engine, leaned down upon the steering wheel to have the much needed cry I had been holding back all morning. After some twenty minutes of crying, I was able to pull myself back together enough to drive to school since I didn't feel like going home just yet.

"Isamu-chan, nani are you doing here; classes aren't for at least another three hours" I heard my sensei ask as I was sitting in the classroom and crying into my arms while sitting at my desk.

"I didn't feel like going home" I answered her with a sniff and she set her books down on the desk beside mine to kneel down and wrap her arms around me.

"Gomen nasai, I wish there had been a way to give you the test earlier, but…"she let her voice trail off; I knew nani she was already going to say.

"But you can't make an exception for one student without making an exception for any of the others" I continued for her as I rose up. "Gomen nasai, I'm going to get something to eat."

She remained silent as I left out of the room and went to get back into my van. Driving off I went to the small diner near the school where I was soon met by Ami; she'd already taken her first test of the day and didn't have another one for at least another hour and a half. We ate in silence and when we finished, I told her of how Momoko's mother was going to be checking up on us and that we were expected to spend Christmas with her family.

"I think that will be a good idea; she considers us her surrogate musume-tachi so it only makes sense" Ami replied quietly and I nodded my head before we drove back to school.

After taking my only test for the day, I started to return home when I passed in front of the Akatsutsumi home and soon applied the brakes. Looking back at the house in my rearview mirror, I put my van into reverse and backed up to park in front of the house; I wanted to see if Kakiko-san was still home.

I entered the gate, and knocked on the door, though I didn't expect anyone to answer. Much to my surprise, though, Kakiko opened the door and looked at me first in questioning before smiling at me.

"Mom, I need a hug" I told her as I began crying again and she opened her arms to me as I went into them and she clutched me close to her.

"Why don't you kick off your shoes and come inside for a cup of tea" she suggested in a motherly manner and I nodded my head as I removed my shoes and left them in the genkan.

Later that afternoon, Ami would soon follow and inquired, "I saw Isamu's van outside, is she here?"

"Hai, she's been helping me with some of the chores around the house; would you care to join us?" Kakiko asked of her and Ami just nodded her head in agreement.

"Gomen nasai, for not being here earlier, but I just finished taking my last test of the day" Ami apologized with a bow.

"It's quite daijobu; Isamu-chan has been helping me for much of the afternoon" Kakiko replied honestly as she headed for the kitchen to begin preparing dinner.

"Well, we'd best be returning home ourselves; arigato for letting me visit" I said as I began to slip my shoes back on.

"I don't think so, wakai josei" Hachizou-san then said as he leveled his finger at me. "You still have a few more chores to tend to and neither of you are going anywhere until they are done."

"Hai" we both replied in understanding, though we couldn't help but wonder nani it was he was talking about.

"Now, I expect you two to return to your apartment, pack your things into a couple of overnight bags, and then to return here before Kakiko sets dinner upon the table. Then, after you eat and enjoy a nice, hot, home-cooked meal, you are to head upstairs, move into Momoko's bedroom, and then to join Kuriko in the o-furo" he instructed us and we turned to look at each other in questioning.

"Dinner will be ready in about an hour, so I highly suggest you two get moving" Kakiko then informed us and we quickly finished slipping our shoes on before dashing out the door and getting into my van to zip off towards our apartment.

"Nani is going on, Isamu-chan?" Ami asked as we were pulling into the parking space of our apartment building.

"If I understand it correctly, we've just been adopted" I replied with a smile as we both raced up the stairs to our apartment, entered, and immediately got to work on packing our bags.

"I'll go pour out the milk so we don't have to worry about it spoiling" Ami announced as she zipped her bag closed while I was still checking to make sure we had everything we would need.

I met Ami at the door and together we returned to and packed our bags into my van while Ami asked of me, "Will oniichan's bike be daijobu left here alone?"

We then looked over at his motorcycle and noted that not only was it securely chained to its post, but was covered with a tarp tied around it to keep the weather off. Nodding our heads to one another, we climbed into my van and we returned to the Akatsutsumi household.

"You girls are just in time" Hachizou-san said as we stepped into the genkan with our bags in hand. "Once you've removed your shoes, you are to head to the oteari and wash your hands; dinner will be ready in about fifteen minutes."

Dutifully doing as we were told, Ami and I were soon being instructed to sit down at the table to enjoy dinner with Kuriko sitting across from us, Kakiko sitting to our left, and Hachizou sitting to our right. Right after dinner, we were instructed to take our baths and so we joined Kuriko in the furoba.

"I think it's great that you two are able to stay with us while Luke and oneechan are away" Kuriko said as we all settled into the hot water.

"You know, I really must agree" I commented lightly with a smile.

"Likewise, it's great to have someone to act as our parents while Luke is away" added Ami with a grin.

After our taking our baths and changing into our pajamas, we all headed for the living room to finish our homework.

Kakiko's POV

I entered the living room to tell the girls that it was time for bed when I found the three already crashed out. Kuriko was using Isamu's thigh as a pillow and her math book was sitting open on the table; Isamu was leaning against the sofa with one of her schoolbooks in her one hand on the floor and her other hand upon Kuriko's upper arm; and Ami had her head laying upon her opened book and her pencil still lightly held in her one hand which was lying atop a sheet of paper that she had been using to take notes.

"Hard working little scholars, aren't they?" Hachizou asked of me with a light chuckle as he entered the room behind me.

"Hai, that they are; we'd best either wake them and send them off to bed or carry them up ourselves" I noted to him as I reached down to gently shake Isamu awake.

Once we had the girls awake enough, we led them up to their rooms, and tucked them in for the night. Hachizou and I then decided to take our own baths before turning in ourselves.

"It's nice having Ami and Isamu visiting with us" I noted to Hachizou with a smile.

"Indeed it is; the house doesn't feel as empty anymore" he replied as he pulled me up onto his lap.

"They're even hard workers and I don't just mean where it comes to studying. And Isamu even called me 'Mom' today" I noted as I wiped a tear of joy from my eye.

"When I was rousing Ami to tell her that she needed to get to bed, she said, 'Hai, daddy'" Hachizou replied with an equally happy smile.

"Well, if they should choose to think of us as their surrogate parents, then that's just fine with me" I then said before we shared a kiss.

"Then in the morning, we will tell them to regard us as such" Hachizou said in finality just before we began making love together.

Isamu's POV

We awoke the next morning with Ami falling out of bed and as she sat up rubbing her head, she asked of me, "Ite, where are we?"

"We're in Momoko's room; the Akatsutsumi's adopted us last night, remember?" I replied as I stretched my arms out and yawned.

"Un, now that you mention it, I think I called Hachizou-san 'daddy' last night" Ami said as she stood up and sat down upon the side of the bed.

"And I called Kakiko-san 'Mom'; I think she actually enjoyed hearing me refer to her as such" I noted as I turned to sit upon the side of the bed also.

"Looks like we won't have to worry about school today" Ami then noted as she indicated my van outside; snow was piled up to midway on the tires and was still falling.

"All the more time to spend as Hachizou's and Kakiko's daughters" I then noted to her as I stood up and we decided to descend the stairs to the kitchen while still dressed in our pajamas.

"Ohayo, girls; you're just in time for breakfast" Kakiko greeted us as we entered the kitchen.

"Arigato, Mom; it smells delicious" I replied with a smile as she set a plate of pancakes down in front of me.

"Ohayo, everyone!" greeted Hachizou happily as he entered the kitchen with Kuriko just behind him.

"Ohayo, daddy!" both Ami and I greeted in return and his smile faded for a second before he embraced both of us tightly.

"Don't you two ever stop calling me that" he then told us with tears of joy in his eyes.

"And don't you two ever stop referring to me as 'mom' either" Kakiko told us, also with tears in her eyes.

"Does that mean I can start calling you two, my oneechan-tachi?" Kuriko asked of us.

"You'd better or we just might have to tickle-torture you" Ami told her teasingly.

"I don't know, aren't oneechan-tachi supposed to tickle their imoto-tachi anyways?" I asked with a semi-vicious grin towards Kuriko.

"I think that's nani Momoko told me once; though I never had the opportunity to try it" Ami then said quickly losing her smile.

"And if you don't start smiling again, I'll tickle you" I then told her as I didn't feel like dwelling on the fact that we had to remain behind while Luke and Momoko returned home.

"Now, now, if anyone is going to do any tickling around here it will be me" 'Dad' announced while digging into his pancakes as Ami and I blushed in return before enjoying our own breakfast.

Ami and I were on our way up to our bedroom to get dressed when we spotted Kuriko coming back out of her room in a robe, but still in her pajamas when I paused to ask, "Aren't you going to get dressed, Kuriko-chan?"

"Iie, why bother when we're not going anywhere for a while?" she replied with a smile as she dashed back down the stairs with her homework in her arms.

Ami and I shrugged our shoulders and dressed anyways only to be chased back up to our room to change back into our pajamas by 'Mom'. Back in our pajamas and in our robes, we returned to the living room to get back to work on our homework while 'Mom' and 'Dad' supervised and offered nani little help they could.

Once done with our homework, we were encouraged to watch television. At one point, we saw 'Dad' donning some winter clothes and I asked of him, "Do you need any help shoveling snow?"

"Iie, I want you three to remain in here where it's warm" he replied with a smile.

"Are you sure, dad; I really don't mind helping" I offered further.

"Hai, I'm sure" he replied before donning his boots and walking out the front door.

He soon returned inside and shook a bunch of snow off of himself while gasping in the warm air before exclaiming, "It's coming down even heavier now; we may be snowed in for a couple of days."

Just then, the power cut out and 'Mom' soon entered the room with some thick blankets in her arms which she then draped over us while 'Dad' turned to the fireplace and began to build a fire so as to keep us all warm. With Kuriko curled up with us, we drifted off to sleep.

Josh's POV

I hung out in my room, pacing in concern as I had been unable to get away to see Kaarii off at the airport. Sherbet sat on her little futon, which was setup on my nightstand, and watching me with concern in her eyes.

"Kuso; how long until Kaarii-chan comes back from the U.S.?" I asked of Sherbet with frustration in my voice.

"She just left yesterday, Josh-kun" she replied quickly, though for some reason she looked as though she were expecting me to hit her or something.

"I can't keep this pacing up or I'm going to either wear out my shoes or the tatami mats. Come on, Sherbet-chan, let's go see nani we can come up with for Kaarii's 'welcome home' party" I offered as I indicated for Sherbet to follow me, but she seemed hesitant. "Are you feeling daijobu, Sherbet-chan?"

"You're currently behaving like my former partner did just before he attacked me" Sherbet replied with a sniff.

"They must have been a real baka to have taken their temper out on you, Sherbet-chan. I'm just worried about Kaarii's staying safe is all. I mean, her mother disapproves of her, her ex- and now deceased boyfriend and all of his friends live there, and then there's the fact that anything can go wrong with an airplane" I explained as I sat down upon my bedside and took hold of Sherbet to gently hug her against me.

"But Luke-san is there; he'll protect her from nani Clementina has told me" Sherbet replied in hopes of raising my spirits.

"He's only with her for the first part of their journey; once they reach Hawaii, Kaarii is going to Sweetville while Luke and Momoko are going in the opposite direction towards Townsville" I corrected her and she began to understand why I was so concerned.

"Did she take her whatever it is you guys use to become Powerpuffs with her?" Sherbet then inquired.

"I'm pretty sure she did…you know something; you're right. Kaarii can protect herself as long as she has her power belt with her, so she'll be just fine, though I'm still worried about her" I informed Sherbet with a light smile.

"Then let's go find a recipe for the cake you wish to make for Kaarii's homecoming, just as you suggested. Only, onegai, promise me you won't lose your temper with me" she asked of me and I nodded my head in agreement.

"I haven't yet, have I?" I asked of her.

"Iie, you haven't yet, which is a lot more than I can say for my last partner" Sherbet replied as we headed for the library.

"You'll have to regale me with the story sometime, but _only_ when you feel comfortable enough to discuss it" I told her and she nodded her head in agreement.

When we arrived at the library we also spotted Laura and Hinata going through some recipe books with their Sweets Spirits and they both glanced up to wave us over to join them.

"Hey, Josh-kun, Sherbet-chan, nani brings you two to the library this morning?" Laura inquired curiously while Hinata just smiled at the two of us; she tended to be the shy, quiet type when Kaarii wasn't around.

"Konnichiwa, ladies, Sherbet and I are in search of some ideas for a homecoming cake for Kaarii" I replied with a polite bow to the four of them.

"Great minds think alike; we're here for the same reason" Toffee replied as she watched Sherbet land on the table beside her.

"Does anyone know nani Kaarii likes in her cakes?" Hinata inquired softly.

"I know she likes chocolate, but I was thinking of something a little more complex, like either an orange chiffon cake or something strawberry" Laura answered honestly.

"Why not an ice cream cake combined with one of those options?" offered Sherbet and we all began to agree on it until Mocha spoke up.

"Nani is wrong with a chocolate cake?" Mocha asked in a crossed tone of voice.

"Nothing's wrong with it, we just thought that if we went for something a little more complex that it would show not only Kaarii, but our sensei-tachi just exactly nani we're capable of when we all work together" Laura replied honestly.

Soon Takumi and Fudge joined us, though more out of boredom than really wishing to help, but they still added some thoughts and ideas to the discussion. Just then, the power cut out and so we all looked up at the ceiling in a bit of concern while Sherbet let out a light screech of surprise.

"It's daijobu, Sherbet-chan; the emergency lights will come on any moment…now" I started to reassure her just as the emergency lights turned on to provide us with enough light to find our way to the exit.

"We may as well return to our dorms; we certainly can't bake or anything without power" Laura said with a sigh and we all agreed to return to our dorms.

Fortunately the power was restored by day two and so we met up again in the kitchen to discuss nani kind of cake we could make for Kaarii's homecoming party. We decided on a combined effort of our specialties. The end result was a devil's food cake with toffee and fudge laced throughout, vanilla ice cream with strawberry pieces layered on top of the cake, and then frosted with a chocolate icing and decorated with a floral, vanilla border both along the bottom and the top edges of the cake, and the words 'Welcome Home, Kaarii-chan!' written finely on top with pink icing and garnished with four heart shaped strawberries.

"Do you think we should make something for Luke and Momoko?" inquired Hinata once we had finished with Kaarii's cake; thus far, she was the only one other than me to know Luke and Momoko.

"Who are they?" asked Laura curiously while Takumi just scratched his head in confusion.

"They're friends of mine and Kaarii's; I didn't know you knew them, Hinata-chan?" I replied.

"I met them once and they were both really nice, though, to be completely honest, Luke kind of scared me at first" Hinata replied with a blush.

"Don't feel bad, he unnerved me, too, the first time I met him" I replied with a chuckle and even she began giggling at the thought.

"Un, but then I remember nani Kaarii had told me and when I stopped to listen to his voice and paid more attention to his smile, I really felt a lot more comfortable around him" Hinata then shared with us and I nodded my head in understanding.

We soon heard the sound of light snoring and we turned to notice Sherbet laying down on a warm dish towel and napping. That was when I remembered our discussion from the other day and so I decided to take it up with the other Sweets Spirits.

"I don't really think it's our place to tell that story" Toffee replied nervously.

"Better one of us to tell it than to expect Sherbet to relive that horror story" replied Mocha with a sigh.

"Fudge-kun, you were their roommate at that time, so maybe you should tell them" suggested Toffee.

"Very well, but I should warn you: it's a story that will make you angry, so try not to shout or to take it out on any of us" he replied and we nodded our heads in understanding before he regaled us with the story.

**~Flashback~**

Sherbet never was a graceful Spirit as she tended to be prone to accidents. When she found her first partner, she was truly thrilled with the idea, but he wasn't. Every time they worked together, she would wind up either slipping or tripping on something and her partner found it very annoying.

It was during the mid-term exams that her partner's violent tendencies began to show themselves. Sherbet was helping to try to grease a baking pan with some butter and had managed to finish this little task successfully, but when she landed, one foot landed on a spot of butter and she was thus sent slipping and crashing into the mixing bowl and thus send its contents all over the floor much to her partner's dismay. His sensei just shook her head and thus gave him a low mark.

Later, her partner was screaming at her for making such a stupid mistake and as punishment, tied her up and dipped her into a pot of very hot water up to her neck line for some five minutes before pulling her back out and tossing her unceremoniously onto the counter while yelling at her to not make another mistake or the consequences would be much worse. He kept his promise.

First it was setting her, barefoot, upon a hot pan before throwing her against a far wall. Then it was all but drowning her in a pot of cold water. His final attack on her, however, would also prove to be the only thing that would separate her from him. She had refused to help as she didn't want to be injured again and he had completely failed all on his own. Still, he decided to take his temper out on her and began to chase after her with a cleaver. He had already managed to injure one of her wings when she took flight and flew out of the school and flew across the street. Her partner, so engrossed in his wrath, failed to see the oncoming bus and was struck down.

**~End of Flashback~**

"My partner and I had tried many times to alleviate his anger, but the baka refused to listen as all he wanted was to harm Sherbet; it was enough to make me seek out our Queen and ask her to find a way to remove Sherbet from being his partner, but she told me that the law was the law and that we are immortal and thus unable to be destroyed by human hands, but still it was frustrating knowing that there was iie way for me to help her. I normally don't harbor ill-will towards anyone, but that was one guy who got nani he deserved" Fudge explained fully and we all sat there staring at him in shock.

"If anyone should ever try to harm my Sherbet-chan, I will kill them" I replied heatedly before turning to look at Sherbet as she began whimpering in her sleep. I walked over and quietly whispered to her, "To whomever or whatever it is that is plaguing Sherbet, leave her alone or you will face me and the other Powerpuffs Z."

She stopped whimpering and smiled before waking from her nap and stretched her little arms out wide, accidentally bopping me in the nose with her little fist so that she turned around and prostrated herself to me as she called out, "Sumimasen!"

"It's daijobu; I needed someone to knock some sense into me" I joked with her while rubbing my nose and she looked up at me and smiled in return before flying up to and hugging me tightly.

"We'd best get back to our rooms; it's starting to get late and we want to be well rested for preparing the kitchen for Kaarii's welcome home party tomorrow" suggested Hinata as she gave Sherbet a light pat on the head.

Laura soon followed and paused to give Sherbet a kiss before continuing on to bed while Takumi also gave her a light pat on the head before heading off to his own room. From there, Sherbet and I also went up to our dorm where we decided to get cleaned up, though I gave Sherbet her bath personally in a coffee mug that I had long since designated as her little o-furo. We then turned in for the night.

The following morning, I met the Akatsutsumi's and Luke's imoto-tachi at the airport where we waited for Luke, Momoko, and Kaarii to return to us. Their plane landed and, once they had disembarked from their plane, we all ran up to give them welcome home hugs and kisses, I even managed to pull Kaarii aside and we shared a long kiss together before hugging each other tightly.

However, one thing that didn't go unnoticed was the way Kakiko kept holding onto Isamu's and Ami's belt loops so that they couldn't leave with Luke.

"Honey, you have to let them go with their oniisan" Hachizou told his wife as he hugged her.

"Iie, they're my babies now and I don't see why I should have to part with them" Kakiko replied stubbornly.

"Well, I don't mind really, as long as we can let Luke move in with us" Ami replied honestly.

"How about we make a trade? You can have Ami and Isamu and I get Momoko" Luke offered and Kakiko went into deep thought on this for a moment.

"Do you girls promise to visit us often?" Kakiko then inquired of Ami and Isamu.

"Hai, of course, where else are we going to find a Mom to talk to about girl-issues" the two of them replied simultaneously.

"Daijobu, behave yourselves" Kakiko then told them as she gave them each a kiss on the cheek before sending them on home with Luke.

"And to think, I was getting my hopes up" Momoko replied with a sigh until her mother grabbed a hold of her and hugged and kissed her daughter many times before they parted for home with Luke and his imoto-tachi doing the same.

Kaarii and I returned to school where she was given her homecoming party and was well-received by her teammates. Though, as the party was winding down, I pulled her aside so that we could once again share a passionate kiss together and holding hands as we started off towards our dorms where, upon reaching the intersecting hallways where we would have to part for our rooms, we shared a kiss once more.

"Oyasumi to tanoshii yume, Josh-chan" she bid me with a smile.

"Oyasumi to amai yume, Kaarii-chan" I replied with all the love in the world and we parted to head off for our rooms and thus to bed.

As Sherbet and I were changing into our pajamas, I gave pause to tell her, "From now on, I don't want you to merely think of yourself as my partner, but more like…my little girl."

"Like a surrogate musume?" she asked of me in surprise.

"Hai" I told her.

"You've got it!" Sherbet replied as she hugged me again before returning to her little futon and we went to sleep.

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><p><strong>Carly: Such a sweet ending!<strong>

**TCW: Glad you liked it!**

**Carly: Indeed. So nani is in store for the next chapter?**

**Next time…**

**Miyako: You're spending the next chapter with me and Taka-chan.**

**Kaoru: With a little of me and Rikiya-chan.**

**TCW: All this and still even more, coming soon.**

**Carly and Momoko: Onegai, while you're waiting, be sure to leave us some nice reviews!**


	46. Ijimekko Troubles

**Arigato many times more for the grand reviews, everybody! For this next chapter, we will be joining Miyako as she learns how to deal with…**

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><p><strong>Ijimekko Troubles<strong>

Miyako had been unusually quiet ever since school had started. We would see her occasionally at the lab, but she rarely spoke of school, avoiding the topic as though it were a taboo subject. However, we would soon learn the reason why in a most peculiar way and in a most unexpected place.

Miyako's POV

Ever since the end of my first month attending fashion design school, I've been contending with two ijimekko-tachi, both of whom were also related to two famous clothes designers. One of them was even granddaughter to the great Shiri-no Janko-san.

I always had to hide my portfolio from them as I feared that they would physically trash my designs; it was bad enough that they trashed them, and me, verbally. Sensei even paid close attention to their works while paying little attention to mine and I was beginning to feel discouraged. But, of course, I would never burden my friends with any of this as I knew they had their own issues to contend with.

I was hard at work on one of my latest designs when both girls walked up and one of them snatched away my book while saying, "Hey, look at this, Rika-chan; the baby is trying to draw again."

"Onegai, give that back" I requested politely only for Rika to walk over and take my portfolio further away from my reach.

"You can't possibly tell me that these pathetic scratches are supposed to be a design of some sort" Rika said derisively.

"Kindly return Gotokuji-chan's portfolio to her and return to your desks" Sensei instructed as she entered the room and Rika just unceremoniously dropped my portfolio onto the floor beside me while she and her friend laughed at me.

I picked my portfolio up and dusted the pages off as I looked down at the design I had been working on while wondering, 'Is it really that bad?'

"Daijobu, if I may have your attention for a moment, I have an announcement to make. In two weeks, there is going to be a contest to see which of you has nani it takes to create a dress design for an extra special occasion that is coming up in a couple of months. The Mayor is hosting a special ball to promote good manners and the dresses you will be designing will be worn by none other than the Powerpuff Girls Z themselves!" Sensei announced excitedly. "Judges for the contest will be Blade and Baron of the Powerpuff Boys Z, me, and none other than the great Shiri-no Janko-san herself!"

"Looks like you're going to be a shoe-in on this one, Mimi-chan" noted Rika as she high-fived her friend.

"Right, though your designs are pretty good, too. But, I'm sure you're right; obaachan has been coaching me personally on the side" Mimi added confidently.

"Well we certainly know who won't be making it so maybe we should just tell her to not even try to compete while at lunch" Rika added as she and Mimi smiled derisively at me so that I just bowed my head while looking away; I had iie wish to encourage them by letting them see the tears in my eyes.

When we were dismissed for lunch, I didn't even bother going to the cafeteria as I ran out the door and crossed the street to the aquarium. I showed the gate person my pass-card, a gift from Kaoru, and continued on until I came upon the seal pool. Walking up to it, my portfolio in my arms, I tossed it into the pool, turned and ran away to sit alone and cry my eyes out.

Kaoru's POV

Children often dropped things into the sea lion pool by accident so we began teaching the sea lions to retrieve and bring to the trainers whatever was dropped so that we could return them as long as they weren't damaged.

I was sitting on the rocks of the sea lion pool when I heard something crash down onto the rocks a fair distance away. I looked over and soon saw one of the sea lions rise up out of the water, nosed a strange powder-blue book up onto its nose and soon carried it over to me.

"Hey, nani have you got there? It looks like Miyako's portfolio" I noted as I looked over the notebook in my hands and opened it to see the gorgeous designs inside.

"Kaoru-chan, go take your lunch break" sensei called out to me.

"Hai, sensei" I called back while clutching both the portfolio and my own schoolwork to my chest.

I rose up to leave and headed for the aquarium's own café. As I stepped out, I soon spotted Miyako, crying heavily, and I walked over to her.

"Miyako-chan, did you drop this?" I asked of her while holding up the portfolio and she looked up for a moment before turning away and crying even harder. 'Okay, so something is definitely wrong here' I then noted to myself.

Soon I was joined by Kaarii, done with her classes for the day and also on her lunch break, as she called out to me, "Permission to join you for lunch, Kaoru-chan?" Noticing Miyako sitting on the bench and crying, she hastened her pace to ask, "Nani happened?"

"Come on, let's head to the café and get something to eat; we can talk afterwards" I said as she and I took Miyako's hands and led her over to the aquarium's own café.

We were just beginning to sit down when a familiar voice called out, "Hey, mind if we join you?"

I looked up to see Momoko, Luke, and Takaaki heading in our direction and so waved them over, though I must have had a concerned look on my face as they soon lost their smiles and jogged over.

"Miyako-chan, nani is wrong, nani happened?" Takaaki asked as he knelt down in front of her and they both took hold of and hugged each other while Miyako released another tirade of tears into his shoulder.

Once she had managed to pull herself together enough, she told us nani had happened.

"Why didn't you tell us before; we could have helped you" Kaarii said in a sympathetic tone.

"I didn't want to burden you all with my troubles when you have your own to deal with" she replied honestly.

Meanwhile, Momoko was quietly looking through the portfolio when she exclaimed, "You designed these? They're absolutely gorgeous!"

Kaarii was soon looking over Momoko's shoulder when she said, "Oh my…if these look this good on paper, then I can only imagine nani they would look like in person!"

"I know; I was absolutely stunned when I saw them! I don't know why you let those baka-tachi bother you so much, Miyako-chan; they obviously wouldn't know good taste even if it slapped them in the face" I proclaimed honestly.

I offered to let Luke and Takaaki look at them, but they waved them away while telling us, "Gomen nasai, but we're two of the judges of the contest and we don't wish to show favoritism."

"I don't see why not; I mean, Mimi is Shiri-no Janko-san's granddaughter so you know _she's_ going to show favoritism" Kaarii noted with a scoff.

"I don't know; Shiri-san isn't one to hide her real feelings about bad designs. She even threw out the one pathetic attempt she once tried so as to make a Powerpuff Girls Z-based design that involved springs in the shoes" Momoko noted to us and soon even Miyako was laughing as she remember how the two of them had been involved in displaying the outfits*.

"Arigato, I do feel a bit better now. But how did you retrieve it from the water without any of my designs being destroyed, Kaoru-chan?" Miyako then inquired.

"A lot of children accidentally drop toys and such into the pool, so we've taken to training the sea lions to retrieve and bring them to us. When you dropped your portfolio into the pool, you missed the water by eight inches and one of the sea lions brought it over to me after picking up your portfolio so as to balance it on its nose" I replied honestly.

Miyako's POV

I still held iie wish to participate in the contest, but Rika and Mimi submitted my name while I was away at the aquarium. To make matters worse, I was contestant number thirteen out of twenty-one and everyone knew that, ever since the school got its start, whoever was given the number thirteen in any of the contests the school held, was one of the failing members. Sensei reassured me that this was just a matter of chance, but I began to feel otherwise.

The night before the contest, I called up Kaarii so as to speak with her about it, "You're not superstitious, are you?"

"Iie, but so far every student that has ever received that number has lost whatever contest had been held" I noted to Kaarii.

"So you'll be the first to disprove the rule. I'm telling you, Miyako-chan; you designs are really fantastic. If not for the fact that they're engaging this stupid contest, I'd have asked you to design both of my dresses" Kaarii replied sincerely.

"Both dresses; but there's only one dress you need to wear to the ball" I informed her in confusion.

"Right, but I also want you to design my wedding dress for whenever the time comes" she clarified for me.

"Has Josh proposed to you yet?" I asked starting to get a little excited for her.

"Iie, not yet, but then you never know, I could find someone else to take up with" she replied with mild humor.

"I don't really foresee that happening, but I've got my fingers crossed for you two" I told her.

"Arigato; oyasumi to tanoshii yume, Miyako-chan" she replied as she bid me a good night.

"Oyasumi to amai yume, Kaarii-chan" I replied as also bid her a good night.

The following morning, I prepared nani I felt were my best designs for judging and quietly placed them upon my assigned station, thankful that both Rika and Mimi had already placed their designs in their assigned stations. I then returned to the hallway just as the four judges arrived.

Baron's POV

"I don't understand why they asked us to attend a contest to choose the designs for the girls' dresses" I noted to Blade, feeling a bit uncomfortable with the idea.

"Because we're impartial and we know modesty, charm, and chivalry" Blade offered and I began to think on this for a few minutes.

"You're also least likely to want to dwell on every little issue so as to get this contest done a lot quicker" Shiri-no Janko-san noted to us and we all chuckled.

We began to go over all twenty-one designs carefully; most were unimpressive.

"Why that little fink; she's been copying some of my ideas behind my back!" Shiri-san proclaimed in anger as she looked at one of the entries; this one was given the disqualifying black card.

The next one, both Blade and I clapped our hands over our eyes while blushing deeply while Shiri-san exclaimed, "Oh my!"

"This one may have a future in the lingerie and adult-clothing industries, but this is definitely _not _fitting for a ball" Blade said as he politely turned the papers over so as not to be seen and was also given a black disqualified card.

We passed further on when we came upon entry thirteen and Shiri-san noted to us, "Uh, shouldn't we just pass this one over gentlemen?"

"Why; you're not superstitious or anything are you?" Blade asked as I picked up and went over the designs.

"Take a look at these; they're gorgeous!" I exclaimed as I passed them over to Blade whose own eyes opened in astonishment.

"Let's send this one to the final judging table" noted Shiri-san excitedly.

"Definitely" Blade and I replied in full agreement.

By the time we finished going through all twenty-one entries, we had only found but two others worthy of consideration and even then they paled in comparison to entry thirteen. As soon as we had finished and marked each of the remaining entries with purple 'Honorable Mention' cards and the two black 'Disqualified' cards, we took our seats by the front of the classroom and the twenty-one contestants were allowed to enter the room.

The three whose numbers were upon the final judging table were requested to stand in front of the desks to await their outcome, though we had iie idea as to who they were until they took their positions while the others were to remain by their stations.

"Nani; I was disqualified?" asked one girl in shock only to receive a hard look from Shiri-san.

"Hey, nani is that loser doing amongst the top three? And why was I disqualified?" asked another girl in disbelief only to receive a hard look from their sensei.

"As you can all see, many of you did rather well, though we did have to disqualify two of you. To those with purple ribbons, you are to return to your desks while your three remaining classmates are to remain standing. Rika, I will speak with you later. But for now, I wish to turn your attention to our three judges as they announce the placement of our three finalists" their sensei announced with a smile.

Shiri-san stood up and made the announcements on our final decisions, "Third place goes to… contestant #6." There was a light applause out of respect while the one girl bowed her head in appreciation before returning to her seat. "First place and the honor of making the dresses for the Powerpuff Girls Z goes to…contestant #13!"

The classroom erupted with much applause as Miyako clasped her hands to her cheeks in surprise while two of her other classmates stood up and yelled out, "Nani; how dare you choose that pathetic excuse of a designer's designs over ours!"

The class soon fell silent and Miyako bowed her head abashedly until she was sided by me and Blade, while Shiri-san answered for us, "Because, Mimi, all you had done was to copy some of my own designs that I am planning to release this spring and thus disqualified! As for you, Rika-chan, your designs are best fit for the adult-clothing industry, which is why you were given a disqualifying card, too; though where you got your ideas from, I cannot begin to guess. Whereas this young lady has shown not only style, but imagination in her designs that must truly reflect her innermost personality and if that's true, then I would be honored to have her take on an apprenticeship with me in my own private studio."

Mimi bowed her head in abashment while Rika blushed heavily from the comments made about her designs. Miyako looked up at Shiri-san in surprise as she smiled appreciatively.

"Arigato for your kind words and offer Shiri-sama, but…my plan is to become one of your competitors while running my own studio and store with my fiancé at my side" Miyako replied honestly.

"Then we have our work cut out for us and I offer you my best in your endeavor" offered Shiri-san as she and Miyako bowed to each other.

Miyako's POV

While a blessing to have won the contest for best design, I was left to create the actual dresses myself with minimal help. My first task was to get my friends' measurements, a task which would prove daunting in itself as I had to wait for them to find the time to spare.

Fortunately for me, most of them were willing to cooperate, but Kaarii was almost constantly putting it off as she and her teammates were greatly occupied with baking a cake for a contest of their own that would determine which team was to bake the winning cake to be enjoyed at the Manners Ball, "But it's only for an hour!"

"I know, but my teammates and I are all relying on one another to do their part for the big cake; if I miss doing my part by a few minutes, the whole thing will wind up an epic fail" Kaarii argued in her own defense.

"But if I don't have your measurements, then you won't have a dress to wear to the event and thus I will end up failing, too" I told her honestly.

"Coconuts, we have a real problem then" Kaarii said with a sigh as she quickly realized that, if she and her team won, they would be expected to also deliver and serve it; kind of hard for her and Josh to do when they're also in the PPZ lineup.

"Kaarii-chan, are you daijobu?" I asked in concern.

"Iie, I'm not; I need to talk to Josh about something" she replied and soon hung up the phone.

When I went home that evening, I requested Taka-chan to take my measurements for me, which he found rather difficult as he thought he was getting a bit personal when measuring my bust and inseam, "Don't focus on nani you're measuring, just focus on the measurement."

"Gomen nasai, but I just can't do this" he deeply apologized to me and I sighed in mild frustration.

There was a knock on the door and obaachan answered it to find Kaarii standing on the front porch and asking, "May I speak with Miyako-chan?"

"Of course, she's in the living room" obaachan replied as she invited Kaarii inside.

"Josh and I spoke with our friends and they all understand that he and I can't be there for the delivery and serving of the cake, but they still request our presence in helping bake the cake the evening before the ball…nani is going on here?" Kaarii started to inform me before watching Taka-chan bow to obaachan before leaving out the door.

"I was trying to get him to take my measurements for my own dress, but he's too shy" I replied with a sigh while I waved sayonara to him as he left out the door.

"Then let's go up to your room and we can do it in there" Kaarii offered and we soon left up for my room where I took off all but my underclothes for her to take my measurements.

Once finished, I then had her strip down to her underclothes and then I took her measurements; not an easy task as she was quite ticklish.

"Onegai, stop laughing, Kaarii-chan" I told her as she was giggling so much that the cloth tape measure kept slipping from my grasp.

"Gomen nasai, but it tickles" she apologized.

"Well, if you don't stop laughing, I won't show you the design I created for your own dress" I cautioned her and she soon put forth even more of an effort to control herself.

I soon finished and then took her over to the drawing I had made of the finished product while I entered the necessary information into my computer and soon after, clicked the print button so that the pattern would print out.

"If the finished product looks as good as the pattern and the picture, I'm going to have to start fighting the boys off double-time, sugoi!" Kaarii noted as she helped me to place the pattern into a large folder which I had printed her PPGZ name upon and then slid it into a large, hard case so as to keep the patterns from being damaged.

It took me almost a week, but I finally managed to get the measurements of my other teammates, entered them into and printed them from my computer, and placed them into their own files before adding them to the hard case. Though truth be told, this was the easy part, the hard part was next to come.

I began selecting the cloth, thread, and ribbons that would be used to create the dresses. To the cloth, I pinned the patterns, and then cut them out. Next, I began the long tedious process of sewing them together; fortunately, I was allowed to use the sewing machine at the school to put it all together while being supervised by my sensei.

With her helping, we set the dresses up on forms and then I began adding some of the finishing touches. It took two more weeks, but I was finally able to get the last dress finished and adorned appropriately.

Shiri-san stopped in on the final sewing day, just before my friends would come over to try them on to ensure that they fit properly, and noted each dress in turn, paying close attention to every single little detail including the way in which they were sewn together before turning and saying to me, "With designs like these, I'm in deep trouble; are you sure you wouldn't rather join up with me?"

"I am greatly honored by your praise and offer, but it's as I said, I want to open my own studio and store with my fiancé managing the store part" I replied while blushing brightly.

I invited my friends over to see the finished dresses and all of them stood agape and speechless as they stared at the dresses they would be wearing to the ball when I asked of them, "Would you like to try them on?"

Helping each of them to slip into their new dresses, once they had removed their uniforms, they all soon stood in front of the mirror modeling their dresses excitedly.

"I think we may have one small problem, Miyako-chan" noted Kaarii to me and I looked up at her in questioning when I realized that you could see the back straps of their bras.

"I think if you were to fix it so that each dress already had some support in it, then we wouldn't even need them" noted Ami helpfully.

"Not enough time, the ball is this weekend" I replied downheartedly.

"Problem solved" Momoko announced as she removed her bra and tossed it onto a table and modeled her dress once again.

"Hey, the dress fronts are almost fitting enough to provide their own support; this is kinky" Kaoru replied much to our surprise before we all started laughing whole-heartedly before the others removed their own bras to model the dresses again.

"I can't wait to see nani the boys think" Kuriko noted to the rest of us and we all smiled and giggled excitedly.

"Hai, they do fit well, but I think the chest-line is just a bit loose with us being topless, so to speak" noted Isamu and we all began thinking on it once more.

I then took up each of their tops and began making notes on a piece of scrap paper before calling up my sensei. With my friends sitting off to the side with robes on, Sensei and I performed an emergency alteration to the dresses by adding in support and soon after, had each of the girls trying on their dresses.

"Fantastic" exclaimed a familiar voice from the doorway and we all turned to see Shiri-san entering the room to see the dresses, tears in the woman's eyes.

"Domo arigato" I replied with a humble bow.

"But, where is Bubbles to try on her own dress?" Sensei then inquired as they all sent me an expecting glance.

Transforming and removing my own uniform, including my own bra, I then slipped into my own dress and Shiri-san reached over, pulled a chair up to her, sat down, and began sobbing, "I'm doomed to this young designer prodigy!"

"Well, the final result will have to wait until this weekend" I noted to the others.

"We're going to need to find shoes to match out dresses!" Kaarii exclaimed while clasping her hands to her cheeks.

"Already taken care of" I then announced as I opened a small case and presented each of the girls with their own low-heeled shoes to match their dresses as Shiri-san broke out crying even harder.

Once my friend and I slipped into our new shoes, and exchanging our socks for hosiery, we then stood before my sensei with fans in our hands and she dropped to her knees as she exclaimed, "I've never seen such masterpieces!"

Each dress not only matched us by our typical uniform colors, but also reflected our individual personalities. Each skirt had a set of sequins a shade darker than the fabric and each creating small designs along the hems and sleeves. Bullet's made up nani looked like flames all the way around the hem; mine looked like bubbles; Bridgette's looked like little cakes; Buttercup's resembled waves; Berry's looked like strawberries; Barrage's looked like stars; and Blossom's looked like flowers.

While also having a similar, basic design that bared the back and shoulders with a very light, filmy material that ran up behind the neck to hold the front up, each front had a different cut which also added to the personality of each dress. Blossom's was the showiest with Bullet's and Buttercup's dresses tying for second while mine and Bridgette's dress was the most modest and all of the dresses looked well with our power belts wrapped around our waists.

We soon changed back out of our dresses and set them back up on the forms before dressing and heading for home.

That weekend, the Powerpuff Boys Z met up with the mayor, all dressed in tuxedos, their power belts, and much more subtle weapons than their normal ones so as to match the dressy atmosphere of the ball. Once all had gathered, save for the Powerpuff Girls Z, the mayor began to make his speech; we girls were to arrive in a limousine at the end of the mayor's speech.

"…To help us with the first lesson in good manners are the Powerpuff Boys Z, who are patiently awaiting the arrival of the Powerpuff Girls Z…and here they are now!" the mayor announced as our limo pulled up in front of the banquet hall in which the ball was being held.

Politely opening the door for us, the driver stepped back as Blade stepped forward to help Blossom up out of the car, followed in turn by each of the gentlemen helping their respective partner out of the car as well. Hundreds of cameras began flashing as people were taking out photographs for newspapers, magazines, and those few personal mementos of the occasion.

Led inside of the banquet hall to get the Manners Ball underway, the mayor and Miss Bellum took our lead of linking their arms together and proceeding forth with each of us following in turn with many spectators who had managed to get tickets for the event also followed while linking their arms together.

We were sat at a large table together with the mayor and Miss Bellum and all remained standing until the Boys reached forward and pulled our chairs out from the table for us, with the mayor imitating them for Miss Bellum, and, as we sat down, they pushed our chairs in for us politely before taking their own seats amidst applause by the spectators who did the same for their ladies.

We spent the night leading everyone in table manners, to using manners upon the dance floor, to even bidding each other oyasumi nasai, as the event came to an end. Kaarii's team of Pâtissière-tachi also preformed remarkably well in spite of being two members short. And, just as we were bidding farewell to our guests, many women were inquiring as to where we had acquired our dresses.

"Hai, they're a whole lot better than anything I could have done" Shiri-san said sadly as she and her aid were leaving.

I merely looked away while blushing heavily at the compliment paid me once again by one of my favorite designers.

Lastly, we ourselves left for the night along with the mayor and Miss Bellum who offered us a ride home. We declined, however, opting to walk back to the school since it was close by and it was a lovely evening.

"You know, when the time comes, I think I'd like for you to design my wedding dress, Bubbles-chan" Blossom said with warm smile.

"Same here" piped the other girls as we all shared in a light giggle before entering the school to let them change out of their gowns and back into their uniforms while the boys changed out of their tuxedoes and into their uniforms.

We all then bid each other oyasumi nasai and left for our own individual homes, but, before I left, I took one last look at the dresses I had designed and made, and smiled tiredly as I closed the door and locked it.

When I returned to school the next day, my dresses were set up on display for the other students to admire before I would be allowed to take them home with me. From that moment on, I never had much trouble with ijimekko-tachi as they knew nani I was really capable of. Rika and I soon became friends and Mimi dropped out of school at her obaasan's insistence. A week later, I was permitted to take the dresses I had made home with me and I gifted them to my friends; all were overjoyed at having them for their own personal use.

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><p><strong>Carly: Impressive to say the least.<strong>

**TCW: Arigato.**

**Carly: So nani is in store for the next chapter?**

**Next time…**

**Kaarii: I never knew this many guys were interested in me!**

**Josh: Un, well I thought you belonged to me, but in the end, it's you decision to make, Kaarii-chan.**

**Clemintina: How are we ever going to get Kaarii-chan out of this one?**

**TCW: All this and even more still to come!**

**Carly and Momoko: Meanwhile, be sure to leave us some nice reviews, onegai!**

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><p><strong>*Author's Note: For those who don't recall, search on YouTube for Powerpuff Girls Z Episode 15 part 1 (if available) for reference.<strong>


	47. Kaarii's FanClub Problem

**Again, I thank you, all, for your great reviews. I'll be honest; I had quite a bit of difficulty with this next chapter, so most of the credit goes to my co-author, cakedecorator (Carly), who provided me with much of the storyline. Also, as I'm sure you will all guess, I do not own the song-fiction used in this either. Song title and performing band will be provided at the end of the chapter. Now, that all of this has been set, let us now join our friends as they must find a way to deal with…**

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><p><strong>Kaarii's Fan-Club Problem<strong>

Josh and I have been getting closer and closer little by little, though it was mostly through watching him with Sherbet and how he treated her that was causing me to want to draw closer to him. He was always patient with her, quick to pick her up when she fell, and would even kiss her injuries. One day, on a whim, I purposely tripped and when he ran over to help me up, I held onto my knee while pouting and he even kissed my knee to make the pain go away.

"This hurts too" I told him while smiling and pointing to my mouth and we shared a kiss together parting to chuckle at each other.

Little did I know, though, that there were other boys watching us and began getting even more and more jealous each time they saw us together.

Mysterious POV

There was some twenty of us guys who were infatuated with Kaarii and her abilities in the kitchen. We would watch her in the kitchen and imagining nani it would be like to be standing behind her and helping her with each little maneuver she made. But without fail, while we were fantasizing about her, that baka, Josh, would step in the way and would offer to help her which she accepted much to our displeasure.

A couple of us even followed her one Friday evening when she was walking to her father's house as she was to spend the weekend with him. We were hoping that we would be able to catch up to her so as to walk her home and maybe get a kiss oyasumi from her, when that baka got in the way again and walked her home instead and even managed to get the kiss we had so desperately wanted.

That Monday, when she had returned we were watching her and her teammates hard at work in their kitchen, glowering each time either Josh or Takumi, though mostly Josh, got near her. But it was when she and Josh were having a conversation, before kissing each other that was the final straw as we stormed outside to meet him by the dumpster and recycling bin.

Josh's POV

I was in charge of taking out the trash from the classroom, so while gathering up and changing the trash bags, I gave pause to joke with Kaarii, "Can I empty that for you or do you wish to add more to it?"

"Go ahead, I'm done" Kaarii replied with a bright smile when I looked down at the items she was creating.

"Sweets baked by a sweet; can it get any better than that" I said as I removed my glove and stole a chocolate cookie from her table.

"Hey, I wasn't finished with that" she said as she playfully smacked me on the arm.

"You're right, it still needs something" I said as I took hold of her by the shoulders and kissed her. "Finished with a kiss and you've got a golden treat that would make the Sweets Queen jealous."

"You're incorrigible, now get that smelly trash out of here, or you won't get another one" Kaarii said as she turned back to the table to get back to work while I donned my glove again and took the trash out with Hinata, Laura, and Takumi giggling at us while also practicing their baking skills.

I continued outside where I set the trash bags down to open the gate that secured the dumpster and recycling bin in place while quietly pondering with a sigh, 'I wonder how long until I can work up the courage to pop the question to Kaarii-chan.'

"Josh-kun, are you okay?" Sherbet inquired of me with concern.

"I'm daijobu, Sherbet-chan," I replied as I gently hugged and reassured her.

"Then nani is with the sighing?" Sherbet further inquired of me.

"I just..." I began to reply when three boys in the St. Marie uniform approached, walking side-by-side, with angry looks on their faces and tears streaming down their cheeks.

"You're him, right? Josh Jones, son of Professor Hector Jones, correct?" The boy in the middle said.

"Hai, and you..." I answered trailing off, not knowing how to respond.

"We have had more than enough with you!" The boy on the left said.

"Nani; why; nani did I do?" I asked, rather confused.

"Because you're our public enemy, number one!" the boy on the right said.

"Nani the…? Now hold on a second! Nani do you mean, 'your enemy'; we've never even met before!" I protested in total confusion.

"You don't know? We'll be more than happy to tell you!" The boy in the middle said, and then all three boys changed into odd outfits. They resembled varsity jackets, colored red, and written on the back of them, in Nihon-go, 'Shiimasutou Kaarii-sama: Goddess of Sweets'

"K-A-A-R-I-I; Kaarii; Kaarii; she'll be mine! K-A-A-R-I-I; Kaarii; Kaarii; her sweets just shine!" the boy in the middle said as he began their club cheer.

"She's our Goddess, hai she is! She's our Goddess, she's the best! She's our Goddess, hai she is! She's our Goddess, she's the best!" the boy on the left said.

"The brunette babe with sweet, pink eyes; she's my Goddess, she's so mine! The American Girl with Nihon-go Pride! She's my Goddess, she's so mine!" the boy on the right said.

"Okay, I get the picture," I replied while sweat-dropping. "You're just a bunch of hopelessly-in-love boys who are crushing majorly on Kaarii-chan. So much that you formed a clique."

"We're not some 'clique'! We're the 'Shiimasutou Kaarii-sama: Goddess of Sweets Fan Club'! And I'm the president, Akamiya Masahiro!" the boy in the middle said, introducing himself.

"I'm the vice-president, Yamamoto Orochi!" the boy on the left said.

"And I'm the secretary, Sota Hiragushi!" the boy on the right said.

"And nani we want is for you to stop acting to friendly with Shiimasutou Kaarii-sama!" Masahiro said, pointing a finger.

"Why would I do such a thing when Kaarii-chan and I have known each other since High School? That, and I don't mean to brag, but I did save her life" I informed them as I began to turn away.

"Iie one refers to our Goddess in a manner so familiar! The last thing we want is for some outsider to offend her!" Sota shouted in anger.

"Let's go, Josh-kun; this could get ugly" Sherbet whispered to me from her hiding place in my shirt pocket.

"Too late" I replied in a joking manner. "But, seriously, you're right; let's get out of here" and I started to turn to leave.

"Hold it!" Masahiro said, as he grabbed my shoulder.

"The only thing you're going to do is face our Fan Club's rage!" Orochi shouted as he and his buddies let extra-large, wooden mixing spoons drop from their jacket sleeves, into their hands, and began attacking me with them.

If not for Sherbet-chan being in my pocket, I'd have fought back, but because she was there, I just clasped my hand over her so as to protect her from harm while taking their onslaught and enduring the pain.

"Nani a wuss; for someone who claims to have saved our Goddess's life, this guy's a real crybaby!" Masahiro said.

"Nani a liar!" Sota claimed.

Kaarii's POV

I was walking around the corner to find Josh and ask nani was keeping him, when I saw nani was happening to him and shouted out, "Hey, leave him alone!"

They must not have heard me as they continued their attack and so I nodded into my pocket. Clemintina flew out, and then she lifted her magic spoon before twirling it. Pale red sparkles spiraled out from it and over towards a few stray garbage which started floating around and dropping trash on the three boys, causing them to duck and cover.

"This guy's using some kind of weird trick!" Masahiro said.

"Iie, it's not a trick, I've seen this before; it's Sweets Magic!" Orochi claimed.

"Hey cut it out! You bunch of baka-tachi, stop picking on my boyfriend right now, or you're going to face _my_ rage!" I shouted, as I ran over to the scene to stop them.

"Kaarii-chan...!" Josh said, as he tried getting up.

The three boys who were attacking Josh suddenly stopped, looked at and ran over to me to kneel before me while one of them said, "We hear and heed your command, Shiimasutou Kaarii-sama, Goddess of Sweets."

"Forgive us, our Goddess! We were only trying to rid you of this hindrance!" replied the one on the right.

"You should not be defiled by this baka any longer, but should join us in the higher grade where you will be adored by your admirers galore, our Goddess of Sweets" spoke the one on the left.

"Oh kyodai, typical fan-boys" I replied while rolling my eyes away from them before storming past them, much to their dismay, to approach Josh. "Are you daijobu?" I asked of him in deep concern while also hearing Sherbet crying from inside his pocket.

"Hai, I've been through a lot worse than that before, but my concern is more for Sherbet-chan" Josh replied while still cupping his hand over his pocket.

"Let's get you inside and then we can address yours and Sherbet-chan's injuries" I offered as I helped him up and led him inside and back to our class.

I had Clemintina give Sherbet a bath while I was placing an icepack against his back while he held another icepack upon his head, all while remaining silent.

"Are you daijobu, Sherbet-chan; are you hurt anywhere?" Josh asked after a while, breaking the silence.

"I'm okay; how are you, Josh-kun?" Sherbet replied once she was dressed and flew over to sit upon his shoulder when he winced in pain. "Gomen nasai, Josh-kun; I didn't know your shoulder was bruised too."

"It's okay; like I said earlier, I've been through worse while tagging along with my father on his archeological excursions" Josh replied lightly.

"I feel like I should be apologizing for this, too" I finally said as I placed another ice pack upon his wounded shoulder.

"Why, just because of a bunch of pathetic, love-sick, immature baka-tachi decided to attack me with large wooden spoons because they're jealous of the fact that we love each other instead of your giving a rat's o-shiri about them; don't worry about it. We'll find a way to get them to bring an end to their stupid club…including that embarrassing cheer" Josh replied half-heartedly.

"They even have their own club cheer?" I asked incredulously and feeling even more embarrassed.

Josh remained silent but nodded his head in confirmation and I just shook my head in disbelief of the level of arrogance and immaturity that those other boys had displayed.

Clemintina and Sherbet flew over to rejoin their fellow Sweets Spirits in time to hear Fudge comment, "It's only been less than a year for Kaarii-san, and she gains this much popularity in a short time? Sheesh, she must be going through lot..."

"And I thought that cremated baka was more than enough for her, but now these three?" Clemintina replied, adding to the discussion.

"Well, it's not every day an American girl like Kaarii-san gets this popular in such a short time period" Toffee noted to the others.

"Has Kaarii-san always been this popular with men?" inquired Sherbet while having her shoulders massaged by Fudge.

"As far as I know, there was only that Daisuke baka, may he burn in Hades, and now these three" Clemintina answered with a bit of scorn in her voice.

"Un, well those boys better not get in the way of Kaarii-san and Josh-san's relationship, or who knows nani the outcome may be" noted Mocha just as Hinata, Laura, and Takumi entered the kitchen to see how Josh was doing.

"You two may wish to get down to the cafeteria before they close up for the night" offered Hinata to me and Josh.

"I do believe you're right, Hinata-chan" Josh replied while standing up and stretching his arms above his head before turning and taking my hand into his as he inquired, "Care to be my dinner date tonight, Kaarii-chan?"

"I'd be delighted" I replied happily as I looped my arms around his and we left together to get something to eat.

We entered the cafeteria together and collected our trays, utensils, and then selected our entrees, appetizers, and deserts before sitting down at a table together to enjoy our dinner when we both noticed some 20 boys gathered together at the opposite end of the cafeteria and glaring at Josh. We decided to ignore them as we sat down at a small table together, well away from them so as to avoid any trouble.

Josh and I had just finished eating when their club's chairman entered the room, drunk on cooking wine, and creating quite a raucous. He then spotted me and Josh and began to charge toward us with one fist pulled back, intending to hit Josh but was aiming for me.

The club members began to try and rush forward to intervene, but Josh pulled up his tray, spilling his bowl of ice cream to the floor, and put the tray in the way of the guy's fist. The Chairman punched the tray and screamed out in pain as he grasped his hand when Josh then smacked him in the face with his tray and knocking him out.

"Attacking me is one thing, but iie one harms my Kaarii-chan" Josh said protectively before turning to me. "Are you daijobu, Kaarii-chan?"

"Hai, thanks to you" I said appreciatively. "But you've spilled your ice cream."

"I wasn't that hungry anyways" he replied dismissively as we sat back down together and I finished my dessert, though only eating half of it before giving the other half over to him.

Meanwhile, the other boys collected up their friend and quietly left while sulking over how Josh had beaten them to save me. Josh and I soon left the cafeteria with him walking me to my room where we shared a kiss oyasumi nasai.

Clemintina and I shared a bath together, though she used a tea cup that was set upon a shelf beside the o-furo, while we got lost in our own thoughts. When we turned in for the night, I lay upon my back staring up at the ceiling while still lost in thought when I noted to myself, 'I've been popular with boys for quite some time, but why do I always end up attracting the wrong kind of guys? I mean, sure Josh is the exception, but first it was that baka in the first few years of elementary school who kept teasing me relentlessly, then it was Daisuke, may he burn in Hades, and now an entire club of fan-boys. This is getting out of hand, I only wish Josh could find a way of proving to everyone that my heart belongs to him and his heart belongs to me…' I yawned at this point and so rolled over to fall asleep.

The next morning, Josh and I shared breakfast together when once again we noticed that all of those fan-boys were gathered together and glaring at Josh again.

"Nani is there problem?" inquired Takumi as he sat down beside Josh.

"I am, or rather, my closeness to Kaarii-chan is their problem" Josh replied with a sigh.

"Fan-boys…nani a pain in the neck" Laura said, adding to the discussion.

"Tell me about it" I replied with a sigh.

"I'm glad I don't have to worry about such things" added Hinata with a light chuckle.

"Hai, well I'm heading to the library after breakfast; would anyone care to join me?" I then inquired of them and both Laura and Hinata agreed to tag along while Josh and Takumi politely declined.

Josh's POV

Takumi and I were walking around the campus together for both a little exercise and to get some air when we were soon surrounded by Kaarii's fan-club and all twenty-one of them had wooden mixing spoons in their hands and nasty looks on their faces. Sherbet and Fudge took the opportunity to vacate from their places on our shoulders to get somewhere safe.

"Josh, I should let you know that I'm not much of a fighter" Takumi whispered to me in concern.

"This is between you baka-tachi and me, leave Takumi-kun out of this" I said firmly to the other guys.

"Iie, he's also too close to Shiimasutou Kaarii-sama: Goddess of Sweets for our comfort" Masahiro said equally firmly.

"I could always request a transfer to a different team" offered Takumi in a panicked tone.

"And when you're done with us, nani are you going to do; attack Laura and Hinata, also?" I asked of them as I could sense them tightening up their muscles in preparation to attack.

"Of course not; we only want you two guys to get off of Kaarii-sama's team so that she can give her heart over to us" shouted another boy.

"And then you can all start fighting with each other over who gets her…that makes sense" I replied in a scoff.

"Nani are you talking about?" inquired a third boy.

"Think about it: according to your logic, any boy who is close to Kaarii is a threat to all of you because you want her to love you instead. But, if that should be the case, Kaarii can only truly love one of you, so who will it be?" I then explained to them.

"We'll decide nani to do about that when the time comes, but for now…get them, guys!" yelled Masahiro as they all began to attack us.

Kaarii's POV

Sherbet and Fudge flew into the library window with panicked looks on their faces when Sherbet flew up to me and wrapped her arms around my chest as much as she could while crying heavily as Fudge told us nani was happening.

"Gomen nasai, Sherbet-chan, but I've got two friends to save" I told her as I took off running while transforming into Bridgette and soon took flight out of the school.

I soon saw the large group that was attacking both Takumi and Josh and shouted out, "Get off of them, you cowardly baka-tachi!" I shouted as I began to attack back with my katana-tachi, though I kept their sheaths locked on so as not to injure anyone too much.

After knocking out the last one, I turned to Josh and Takumi so as to inquire of them, "Are you two daijobu?"

"Hai, arigato for the assist, Bridgette-chan" Josh replied as he and I shared a kiss.

"Hey, make your choice baka! You can't have both our Kaarii-chan and Bridgette-chan!" shouted Masahiro as he managed to pick himself up off the ground.

I turned and sent him a dirty look when I pulled out my compact and changed back in front of his eyes before turning back to share another kiss with Josh while Masahiro just fell backwards as he passed out in shock.

When all was said and done, I sat up in my room, looking up at the clouds and lost in thought when I heard someone singing from the ground below:

_She's got eyes that cut you like a  
>knife and<br>lips that taste like sweet red wine  
>And pretty legs go to heaven Every time<br>She got a gentle way that puts me at ease  
>When she walks in the room I can hardly breathe<br>Got a devastating smile knock a grown man to his knees_

_She's got whatever it is_  
><em>It blows me away<em>  
><em>She's everything I wanted to say to a woman<em>  
><em>but couldn't find the words to say<em>  
><em>She's got whatever it is<em>  
><em>I don't know what to do<em>  
><em>Because every time I try and tell her how I feel<em>  
><em>it comes out "I love you"<em>  
><em>You got whatever it is<em>

_You know I've never been the type that would ever want to_ _stay_  
><em>Bring 'em home at night and they're gone the next day<em>  
><em>But that all changed when she walked into my life<em>  
><em>People ask me what it is<em>  
><em>I tell them I don't know<em>  
><em>Just something about the woman makes my heart go haywire<em>  
><em>She's gonna be my wife<em>

_She's got whatever it is_  
><em>It blows me away<em>  
><em>She's everything I wanted to say to a woman<em>  
><em>but couldn't find the words to say<em>  
><em>She's got whatever it is<em>  
><em>I don't know what to do<em>  
><em>Because every time I try and tell her how I feel<em>  
><em>it comes out "I love you" (I do)<em>  
><em>You got whatever it is<em>

_When she loves me_  
><em>Girl that's how I feel<em>  
><em>When she loves me I'm on top of the world<em>  
><em>Because when she loves me I can live forever<em>  
><em>When she loves me I am untouchable<em>

_She's got whatever it is_  
><em>It blows me away<em>  
><em>She's everything I wanted to say to a woman<em>  
><em>but couldn't find the words to say<em>  
><em>She's got whatever it is<em>  
><em>I don't know what to do<em>  
><em>Because every time I try and tell her how I feel<em>  
><em>it comes out "I love you"<em>  
><em>You got whatever it is<em>

I looked down to see Josh below and smiling up at me and I smiled in return while blushing deeply.

Masahiro's POV

We had managed to pick ourselves up after a while and went back in search of that baka, Josh. When we found him, we all gave pause to listen to him singing to Kaarii and when he finished we paid close attention to the way she was looking down at him with all the love in the world. We then realized that we had lost her before we ever even got our start.

Hanging our heads in defeat as we removed our varsity jackets and threw them into the trash, we kept walking away when I heard Hiragushi say aloud, "You know, that Hinata girl is kind of kawaii, too; I wonder if she has a boyfriend."

He left the group and went off in search of the girl and I stopped to watch as Takumi was being cared for by Laura when I finally noted to my companions, "You know, I'm sure there're girls out there just waiting to meet us, we just have to find them."

"I think I speak for everyone else when I say, 'Shut up, Masahiro'" replied Orochi as he and the rest of the guys split up and left back for their own rooms.

Kaarii's POV

Josh and I would never be bothered by my fan-club ever again as they had disbanded and went their own separate ways. And, much to our surprise, Hinata had taken up with the one boy named Hiragushi and she couldn't have been happier.

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><p><strong>TCW: That was a rather nutty chapter.<strong>

**Carly: Arigato; I'm just glad I could help you with so much of it!**

**TCW: As am I. And to those wonder, the name of the song is "Whatever It Is" performed by: The Zac Brown Band, and can be found on Amazon or Itunes.**

**Carly: So nani is in store for the next chapter?**

**Next time…**

**Momoko: It's finals week!**

**Luke: I need a volunteer to help me take my one of my finals.**

**Kaoru: At least you get to take your finals.**

**Rikiya: It's a fight between father and daughter at the Matsubara household!**

**TCW: All this and more, coming soon!**

**Carly and Momoko: Just make sure to leave us some nice reviews while you wait!**


	48. Kaoru's Big Fight

**Arigato once again for the wonderful reviews, friends! This next chapter starts in Kaoru's POV, so let now join our friends as they must contend with…**

* * *

><p><strong>Kaoru's Big Fight<strong>

I awoke to the sound of my alarm buzzing and began excitedly getting dressed as today was finals and I really wanted to show everyone how much I had learned. I headed for the kitchen where I enjoyed a bowl of cereal and was carrying my dishes to the sink when my father entered the room, but without his mask. I froze up for a moment as I stared at him before finally realizing who it was standing in the kitchen with me.

"Have you seen my mask, Kaoru-chan?" he asked of me.

"Iie, I haven't, but I think you should start wearing it a little less frequently; I almost didn't recognize you" I confessed lightly.

"You didn't take it then" he said almost untrustingly.

"Iie, dad, I didn't take it. Have you asked Mom if she's seen it?" I replied as I placed my bowl into the dishwasher after having rinsed it out.

"Kaoru, if you did take it, you can tell me; I won't be angry" he then said.

"I just told you that I didn't take your silly mask. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get to the aquarium so I can take my finals" I told him, feeling insulted.

"Kaoru…where is it?" he then said as he took hold of my wrist when I started to pass by him.

"I don't know" I said angrily as I didn't like his accusing me of taking his mask.

He opened a drawer and extracted the paddle from within it as he said, "I'm only going to ask you one more time; now, where is my mask?" he asked of me angrily.

"I don't know where your stupid mask is" I replied just shy of shouting.

He then drug me back to my room where he pulled my shorts and panties down, turned me to lean over the back of my desk chair and delivered twenty hard strikes across my bared o-shiri with the paddle.

When he finished, he spun me back around to look him in the face as he asked in shouting voice, "Nani have you done with my mask? I know you've taken it in the past and I know you've taken it this time, too! Now, where is it?"

"I didn't take it" I shouted back while crying only to be given twenty more strikes.

It had long since been decided that, whenever discipline needed to be exacted, that it was our mother who would deliver it since dad was so strong. But now, for the first time in many years, I was being disciplined for something I didn't do and it was by my father.

I was gripping a hold of my chair tightly and sobbing in pain when he pushed me towards my bed and demanded of me once more, while removing his belt, "I'm not going to ask you again! Nani have you done with my mask?"

"I didn't take the damned thing" I replied while trying to catch my breath.

He pulled back his arm and made ready to strike me with his belt when my mother entered the room, yanked the belt from his hand, and replaced it with his mask.

When he turned around to look at her in both questioning and surprise, she told him, "Gomen nasai, but I see you didn't read my note that I was taking your mask to wash the filthy thing."

"Oh, I see; you're dismissed, Kaoru-chan" he said as he left out of my room to head down to the gym.

I pulled my pants back up, walked past my mother, and slipped my shoes onto my feet before turning and running towards the aquarium. By the time I arrived, I was already too late to take my test, so I kept walking until I came to an empty bench beside the building and sat down to cry heavily. I had missed my test, my father displayed his lack of trust in me, and to make matters worse, my o-shiri really, _really_ hurt.

After a few minutes of crying, I managed to pull myself together and began walking when I came upon an apartment building that was advertising apartments for rent and so went inside. I was met the agent who happily showed me to one of the two places that were available.

"The apartment features two bedrooms, full kitchen, living room, and a balcony that portrays a lovely view of the wharf" she had informed me while we were walking up the stairs to the apartment.

"How much is rent?" I asked of her lightly.

"Rent is 39,000 yen a month, but we're willing to negotiate" the agent informed me politely.

"Do you have a student discount or anything?" I inquired of her.

"Hai, for students we're willing to go as low as 35,000 yen and for those who work locally, we can reduce it down to 34,000 since most don't need a parking spot" she replied with an eager smile.

"Well, I both work and study at the aquarium just a block from here" I informed her and she took up her book and began to run some figures.

"In that case, we're willing to go as low as 32,000 yen a month" she replied anxiously.

"And how much of a deposit do you require in advance?" I asked expecting to hear some astronomical figure.

"Three months advance" she told me with a slight look of trepidation.

"I'll take it" I said eagerly, though I knew this would require me to make some crunches on my spending.

"That's wonderful! Now I just need for you to come down to the office to sign some paperwork" she told me happily as we began to descend the stairs to her office.

Rikiya's POV

It has been quite an anxious morning and there was much running around going on while most of my co-workers and some of my sensei-tachi held fearful looks on their faces.

"The boss is coming, Rikiya-kun, and he isn't happy; you'd best get while the getting is good" cautioned one girl as she past me.

"Rikiya…where the bloody hell is Kaoru; she's late!" the man shouted as he rounded the corner.

"I don't know, I was just coming to find you so as to ask you the same thing" I replied honestly.

"I've got a lot of time invested in that girl to allow her to throw aside her education like this" he told me heatedly as I took up walking alongside of him.

"I know; I'm worried about her, too" I said with concern.

"Sir, I've tried calling Kaoru-chan's cell phone five times, but it just goes directly to her voicemail" his secretary said as she ran up to us.

Just then we spotted Kaoru walking up to us from the shark tanks and I ran over to take hold of and hugged her tightly.

"Kaoru…you're late; just where the hell have you been?" our employer asked of her heatedly.

"I just rented an apartment" she replied and we all fell silent as we watched her continue on towards Akihiro's tank.

"You missed taking your finals just to rent an apartment?" our boss asked in disdain as we gave pause to watch her remove a wet suit from her locker.

She remained silent as she began undressing in front of us and our faces fell as we saw how red her o-shiri was.

"Rikiya, after she's taken care of Akihiro, I want you to talk with her" our boss said and I just nodded my head in agreement.

"Don't bother. I'm late because my stupid father decided to accuse me of stealing his damned mask, which my mother had taken to wash, when he decided to deliver forty strikes to my bare o-shiri with the paddle. And…and…he didn't even so much as apologize for it either!" she shouted to us before running and diving into the pool with Akihiro.

I tried to approach the pool, when Akihiro popped up and postured a threat at me as he knew Kaoru was upset, but didn't know with whom it was that she was upset with.

"Best to leave them alone for now" our boss said so I just wrote a note asking Kaoru to meet us in the main office later on instead.

I was heading off to meet up with Kaoru at lunchtime to find her eating a small salad while talking on the telephone in the boss's office.

Momoko's POV

Earlier that morning, I was standing in front of my locker and gathering up the last of my books after completing my finals when Luke approached to tell me, "Hey, Momoko-chan; I've got a bit of a problem and am hoping you might be able to help."

"Sure, nani can I do for you?" I asked of him with a smile.

"I'm expected to give a full-bodied massage to a patient in front of the class in a couple of hours, only I have iie patient to give one too. I'd have asked Kuriko, but I gave her one yesterday and Sensei expects me to have a patient I've not seen before for the final test" he explained to me.

"Wait a second…a full-bodied massage usually requires the patient to be either mostly undressed or completely undressed, right?" I asked of him cautiously.

"Hai" he replied with a sigh.

"Of course, you did say that this was in front of your sensei as well as the rest of the class, right? Okay, I'll let you talk me into it" I replied as he and I left to head off to his massage class.

When his turn came around, I thought I could just undress to my underclothes, but his sensei insisted on all patients being completely undressed. Begrudgingly and feeling embarrassed, I removed my underclothes to stand before Luke while wearing only a towel as he made his initial observations of my condition aloud to the class, though mostly addressing his sensei.

"Very good, you may proceed" his sensei replied as I carefully sat upon the massage couch and laid face down before opening the towel so that he could bare my back as he prepared to start working on me.

He then applied some massage oil to his hands and began massaging my back; the oil was scented with lavender, not one of my favorite fragrances unless accompanied with vanilla, but I was in iie position to complain as I relaxed into the massage. When he came to my backside, I was blushing something fierce despite trying to relax, but he paid little attention to anything more than nani he was doing as he went down my leg to my foot before coming back up and proceeding over to my other leg.

I was then quietly instructed to turn over while Luke held up a privacy towel and then adjusted my towel to cover my chest and lower regions while he began to massage my arms and shoulders, working to my upper chest area, and carefully lifting up the sides of my towel, began to come down my sides. From there, he went back down my legs, to my feet, and back up again.

"How are you feeling?" he asked of me once he had finished.

"You know, when we're married, I expect even more parts of me to be massaged" I replied to him smartly which soon had his sensei and the rest of his class giggling at us while he blushed brightly.

"Don't worry, we'll teach him _those_ techniques _after_ you two are married, for now you'd best be getting dressed; you can use the curtain over in the corner" Sensei replied and I dutifully, and carefully, jumped down to utilize the offered curtain to begin getting dressed. "As for you, Utonium-san, good work; class is now dismissed for the remainder of the day."

That was when Luke's cell phone started ringing and he answered it after checking the Caller I.D., "Moshi-moshi, Kaoru-chan. You did nani? Well, sure I can help you move, but maneuvering your bedroom furniture around is going to be a bear of a chore. Daijobu, I'll go rent a moving van after class and will meet you in front of your parents' apartment, sayonara."

"Nani is that all about?" I asked of Luke while we were heading towards our lockers.

"I'll tell you about it later" Luke told me as he gave me a kiss on the forehead before turning and jogging away.

Rikiya's POV

"I know it's asking a lot, Oniisan, but it's important to me" I heard Kaoru say into the phone as I sat down beside her with my own lunch. "Daijobu, I'll meet you then, sayonara."

"Is there something you want to talk about?" I asked of her quietly.

"I need some help moving some of my furniture from my room into my new apartment this evening" she replied simply.

"Nani about your parents; aren't they going to be home?" I asked of her seriously.

"Iie, they're going to Shou's soccer game this evening" she replied and I quietly nodded my head in understanding.

She then turned to the computer and began typing up a few of letters, two to her mom, and the other to her ototo.

"May I ask as to where your apartment is?" I inquired of her as I drank down my soda.

"It's in the same building as your apartment" she replied lightly and I almost choked on my drink.

"Why didn't you tell me earlier; you could have saved yourself the money and moved in with me" I replied after catching my breath.

"Because I want to experience a few years of personal freedom before we're married" she said in honesty that made me think.

"And so you're asking Luke to help you move out; why didn't you ask me?" I asked of her, feeling mildly hurt.

"Because I hadn't gotten around to it yet" she replied with a half-smile as she printed the two letters. "So, are you going to help me move or not?"

"Of course I will," I replied and she hugged me, "but nani about taking your tests?"

"I already missed the deadline" she told me with a sigh before finishing her lunch.

Kaoru's POV

Rikiya and I met up with Luke, driving a moving van, and I began to pack up everything into a bunch of boxes while Luke and Rikiya dismantled some of the furniture to take it down to the van. We finished by 8 and, climbing into the van with him, we drove over to Luke's apartment where I would be allowed to spend the night; his shimai-tachi attending a slumber party at Momoko's house.

Early the next morning, we moved my stuff into my new apartment and I began to unpack everything while enjoying the quietness of my new place.

Mitsuko's POV

When we arrived home after enjoying Shou's big soccer game, the first thing I noticed was a note from Kaoru to me taped to the refrigerator. Taking it down and unfolding it, I read: _'Dear Mom, by the time you read these lines, I'll be gone. Fuller letter is taped to the inside of my old bedroom door. – Kaoru_'

I then turned and ran past the men-folk of my family and headed straight to Kaoru's room where I threw the door open and clicked the light on to find it completely empty. Closing the door behind me, I took down the note taped to the back of the door and read it carefully.

'_Gomen nasai to up and leave you like this, Mom, but I can iie longer live in an apartment with someone who does not trust me and resorts to violent tendencies to attempt to get nani he wants. I am leaving you my new address and welcome you to come and visit me at any time, just call ahead to let me know you're coming._

'_I have left a note of apology to Shou for missing his big game and can only hope that he won. As for Da – Tokio-san, with all due respects, he is not invited to my home and should consider himself very lucky if I even invite him to mine and Rikiya's wedding when the time comes unless we can find a way to reconcile, but I don't foresee that happening any time soon._

'_Onegai, don't start crying too much as I am only a phone call away and I am still living locally. Not to mention that I am still working at the aquarium, however, when visiting, tell Tokio-san that I have iie wish to speak with him as of yet. I will miss our little girl-talks, nani few and far between they were, but I do hope you'll visit. Love – Kaoru_'

I sat down in the middle of Kaoru's bed room and just began crying as my only little girl had left. My arms began to ache to hold her but it wasn't to be despite knowing that she was still alive and well in another part of the city. There was a knock on the door and Shou entered to quickly look around when he spotted me and quickly approached me to drop into my arms.

Dai was clueless as Kaoru had left him iie note or anything, but he seemed to sense something was out of place as he, too, soon entered Kaoru's empty room and joined us in sitting on the floor for a few minutes before asking, "Nani happened?"

"Kaoru moved out, that's nani happened" Shou answered gruffly.

"Obviously, but nani I want to know is why" replied Dai, keeping his voice level.

There was a knock on the door and soon Tokio opened it with a grin on his face as he inquired, "Is this a private party or can anyone…join? Where are Kaoru's things?"

Purposely removing Kaoru's new address from the note, I just handed it to him to read before he dropped to his knees in shock and despair. Rising up, the boys and I left back out of the room and I clicked the light off before closing the door behind me, thus leaving Tokio to remain in the dark.

Kaoru's POV

I had just taken my first shower in my new apartment and was settling into my bed when my cell phone rang; Mom was calling according to the Caller I.D.

"Moshi-moshi, Mom" I said with a bit of a yawn.

"May I come over tomorrow to pay you a visit…alone?" Mom inquired; I could hear the tears in her voice.

"Hai, onegai, I'd love to show you my new apartment" I replied happily.

"Arigato, I'll be over after your father leaves for work" Mom informed me.

The next morning, I ran over to the aquarium at an abnormally early hour and used my own key to get in. After deactivating the security alarm, I then dashed over to Akihiro's tank and began getting my morning chores done before going to the manager's office to leave him a note of nani all I had taken care of and that I would be back later that afternoon and why. I was on my way back out the door when my boss walked in and sent me a puzzled look.

"Nani are you doing here at such an early hour?" he asked of me.

"Gomen nasai, but my mom is coming over to see my new apartment and I wanted to get my morning chores done in time to get back home before she arrives. But I'll be back later this afternoon to finish up the rest" I told him and he nodded his head in understanding.

"Iie problems, I know how moms can be; when they say jump, you don't even have time to ask them how high. Go on, go home, but…you're working Saturday, wakai josei" he told me firmly and I nodded my head in agreement before dashing out the door and sprinting off towards home.

Mom arrived at 9 and I welcomed her with a tight hug which she returned while murmuring into my ear, "Do you have any idea how long I've been waiting to do this ever since you left?"

"Gomen nasai, Mom, I didn't want it to be this way, but I can't live with my father anymore" I replied before leading her further into the apartment.

"You don't even have any furniture" she noted to me while staring at the empty main room.

"Iie, not yet at any rate" I replied before showing her to my bedroom, where the only real furniture I owned could be found.

"How much is this place costing you?" she asked of me.

"Normally rent here is 39,000 yen a month, but since I'm both a student and work locally, I'm being given a discount and so am only paying 32,000 yen a month. I'm saving and scrimping on my expenses so as to be able to afford some furniture, a telephone, and maybe even a television, but it's going to take a while to build up that kind of money; especially since I won't be getting my raise…" I informed her.

"Nani, you're not getting a raise?" she asked in disdain.

"I would have had to graduate to the next class before I could get my raise and since dad made me miss the test…" I started but ended up at a loss for words as I began crying all over again.

"Gomen nasai, Kaoru-chan" she apologized as she took wrapped her arms around and held onto me while I cried into her shoulder.

"I studied, I overcame my fear of sharks, and I failed to take my finals all because of dad and his damned mask" I sobbed into Mom's shoulder while she ran her hand up and down my back in a comforting manner.

"I know; I only wish there was something I could do to fix things for you" Mom told me in a placating manner.

Pulling myself back together, I then inquired of her, "Did you want to see the rest of the place?"

Silently nodding her head, I first showed her to the oteari where I washed my face and then showed her the large furoba before finally showing her to the daidokoro, all of which she displayed impression with.

"You certainly do have a nice place here, Kaoru-chan. May I and your kyodai-tachi visit once in a while?" Mom inquired as she was putting her shoes back on in the genkan.

"Hai, onegai do, Mom; only make sure to call me to ensure that I'm home, daijobu?" I instructed her with a warm smile.

"Of course" she replied before we shared on more hug and she soon turned to head for home.

Soon after, I returned to work as I had promised. At one point, even though it wasn't scheduled, I had Akihiro performing in front of a group of school children who were on a field trip. I finished up, albeit late, and returned home to climb into bed where I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

My alarm sounded the next morning, and I rose up to return to work. I had just placed my purse and jacket into my locker and was getting ready to pull out a wet suit when my boss called me to his office. Forgoing changing, I jogged to the manager's office where he pointed at his desk where some test papers sat and I just looked at them questioningly.

"You have some very powerful friends, Kaoru-chan. They managed to convince the scientific community that you be allowed to take your finals anyways, so I expect you to sit down right here and get to work on completing your tests" he told me as he pulled out his chair and pushed me into it before turning me back towards his desk.

"Arigato, sir" I said appreciatively.

"Don't thank me yet, get your testing completed, pass it with high marks, and then you can thank me. Now you have exactly four hours to complete the test, starting…now" he said and I pulled up the first page and immediately got to work while he quietly left the office and hung a 'do not disturb' sign on the office door.

I completed my testing with 10 minutes to spare and so I summoned my boss back to the office.

"You finished already?" he asked as he entered the office and looked over my papers rather quickly before turning to the fax machine, dialed a number, and sent them in.

I was dismissed for an hour's lunch when I was summoned back to the office.

"Omedeto, Kaoru-chan, you got an 'A+' on your test!" my boss said happily while entering something into his computer.

"Arigato, sir; you have iie idea as to how much this means to me" I told him while wiping a couple of tears from my eyes.

"Actually, I do; I'm going to tell you something that I have never told anyone else before, so you keep this a secret: I failed the test the first time I took it and I too felt devastated by it. Now clock out and go home; your first certificate will be mailed to you within the week" he told me in confidence and I nodded my head as I turned to head out the door after I had clocked out.

When I arrived home, I found a brand new set of furniture in the main room, a table with two chairs in the daidokoro, the extra bedroom had been turned into an office that had a marine life motif, and a telephone had been set up in the main room.

I then turned and noticed a television was set up across from the couch with a note taped to it, '_I know I have iie right to ask this of you, but…is there any way you can find it in your heart to forgive your bull-headed, baka of a father? If so, I'm on my knees behind you. – Dad_'

I looked up from the note and turned around to see dad, on his knees, with his hands clasped together in a pleading manner and tears in his eyes, but iie mask. I began to vigorously wipe the tears from my eyes as my anger with him melted and soon approached to drop into his arms to hold me.

"Where's your mask?" I asked of him while I had my head placed against his broad chest.

"I gave it up for you. Somewhere along the lines, I lost my priorities and, after the cruel thing I had done to you, the way you sounded off at me, and then leaving home, I finally realized just nani was important. You are by far more important to me than my ridiculous mask, so I retired and sold it so as to buy all of this for you" he told me while indicating all of the furniture.

"You bought all of this just by selling your mask?" I asked in surprise.

"Iie, I had a lot of help with most of this" Dad replied while indicating my friends, including my boss, walking out from my room where they had been hiding.

"So are you two going to remain down on your knees, or are we having a house-warming party?" inquired Kaarii as she and Josh stepped out from behind the others with a cake in their hands that said, 'Omedeto on your new apartment, Kaoru-chan!'

Once the party had won down, I bid my friends, boss, and family oyasumi as they all left for home, with Rikiya and I sharing a kiss as he left for his own apartment a few floors up from mine. And yet, despite all the new furniture, the telephone, the television, the new office, and the cake that Kaarii and Josh had made for the event, the highlight of the evening was reconciling with my father and his understanding that I still wished to remain in my apartment instead of returning home with them. I then clicked off the lights, took my shower, and turned in for the night, happy knowing that I had such good friends and a loving family not all that far away.

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><p><strong>Carly: Well, at least they found a way to reconcile, much like Kaarii did with her mother.<strong>

**TCW: True.**

**Carly: So nani is in store for the next chapter?**

**Next time…**

**Momoko: You all get to briefly visit with Kanta and Isamu in school!**

**Isamu: Hai, but a certain pain-in-the-o-shiri rears his ugly head and decides to cut out of school early to try chasing down a certain friend of ours.**

**TCW: Not to mention that we will be jumping forward to everyone's last year of college and the start of their businesses.**

**Carly: All this and still a whole lot more coming soon!**

**Momoko: Onegai, just be sure to leave TCW-sama some nice reviews while you wait!**


	49. Sakamoto Learns His Lesson

**Arigato for the many great reviews, friends! We will be starting this chapter in Isamu's POV as we all get to enjoy watching as…**

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><p><strong>Sakamoto Learns His Lesson<strong>

Kanta and I were meeting up together to get ready for class so as to take our finals when, just as I opened my locker, I got a shock from a hidden wire that had been attached to my locker's door latch.

Shaking my hand furiously, I turned as I heard a familiar, and semi-sadistic, laugh as Sakamoto walked up saying, "Looks like another experimental project has worked like a charm."

"Un, well in a second you're going to see how well my fist works when it gets planted in your face!" I shouted in anger. "Iie thanks to you, my hand has gone numb and you had better pray that I get the feeling back in it before I have to take my test!"

"Hmm, that shouldn't have happened" he then noted as he took down his the small box that he had secretly place atop my locker and checked the device over. "Maybe I should have used a smaller battery."

"Come on, Isamu-chan; let's go down to the cafeteria and we'll see nani we can do to get the feeling back in your hand" Kanta offered as he took hold of my other hand and we began to head off towards the cafeteria, with him also carrying my books.

Fortunately for Sakamoto, I had regained the feeling in my hand by the time we had finished eating our breakfast and so headed off to class, only this time we heard Sakamoto bragging to a few of his friends, "Un, I'm inheriting my ojiisan's old joke shop."

"I just hope you plan on selling that old water balloon bomb device you used on that nekkyo baka, Momoko" his one friend said only to have Sakamoto lose his temper.

"Hey, don't you dare to insult my Momoko-chan, baka!" he shouted in return and surprising his companions.

"_You're_ Momoko-chan; last I heard she was _Utonium-san's_ Momoko-chan" his friend corrected with a scoff.

"Not until the day he marries her, she isn't; and I intend on getting her back long before then!" Sakamoto shouted before turning around and storming off to his desk in a huff.

"I guess some people don't know they've lost a battle even many years after they've lost it" Kanta whispered into my ear and I chuckled whole-heartedly.

Soon, even Himeko entered the classroom and slid down into her desk in front of me, almost exhaustedly.

"Are you alright, Himeko-chan?" I inquired of her.

"I had to run to get here in time; I accidentally slept in due to a late party my father insisted on my attending at his office and, to make matters worse, I missed breakfast" she replied with a sigh as her stomach began to audibly rumble.

Reaching into my bag, I extracted a couple of granola bars, which I usually carried in case I needed a healthy snack at some point in the day, and passed them to her while saying, "Here, these should help you."

"Domo arigato, Isamu-chan" Himeko said appreciatively as she took the bars and began munching on one of them immediately.

When our sensei walked in, she passed around the tests and we were soon working on them. Me, Kanta, Himeko, and Sakamoto finished first and were thus quietly dismissed to the cafeteria to await our next classes. Sakamoto sat alone, which was fine with me, while Himeko joined me and Kanta at a table together where we all enjoyed a brief snack prior having to head off to our next class, though I would go to a different one since my next class was kendo.

"I guess we can end our internships once these tests are complete" Kanta noted to the two of us quietly.

"Well, at least after our graduation we can" I replied with a half-smile.

"At least you two are only interning; my father expects me to take over the company immediately after graduation so he can retire early" Himeko said with a sigh as she finished off an apple.

"At least it's you and not your oneesan to inherit the family business" I noted to her lightly.

"True; she was too interested in taking over the scientific part of the business, so I'll get to run the company from the big seat while she gets all of the Nobel Prizes. But it will only be from the money I decide whether or not to lend to her" Himeko replied with the first glimmer of her old self coming through for that day.

"Well, time's wasting; we'd better to get our next class before we're late" Kanta said as we all rose up and left, though pausing long enough to wish each other well by saying, "Give them Hell."

We met back up together at lunch, though I now bore a bruise on my right arm which caused Kanta to look at me in concern while he examined my injury.

"Nani happened to you; miss blocking someone or something?" Himeko asked as she walked up and saw the wound on my arm.

"Iie, when I passed my test with flying colors, one of my classmates gave me nani was supposed to be a gentle punch in the arm, but I think he forgot the gentle part when he only just barely passed" I replied as we all watched the big guy walk past us with a sullen look on his face.

"Well, not all guys know how to take it lightly when they lose to a girl. I only learned how to deal with it when I lost my heart to you, Isamu-chan" Kanta replied sweetly so that I hugged him tightly.

"Uh-oh, here comes Sakamoto again" we heard Himeko tell us and we all watched as he passed right by us and headed out the door; he had _that_ look in his eyes.

"Do you think we should warn Momoko?" inquired Kanta of me.

"Is the sky blue?" I asked in reply as I pulled out cell phone.

Kaarii's POV

I was hard at work in our practice kitchen, working with my teammates and friends on our final's cake: a red velvet cake with Belgian chocolate ice cream and both vanilla, raspberry, and dark chocolate frosting. While I was getting the piping bag ready for use when a shiver ran down my spine and soon the tingling sensation shot out to m extremities so that I accidentally squeezed the bag in my hand too hard causing it exploded all over both me and Clemintina.

"That's a first" Clemintina said sourly as she wiped icing from her little face.

"Are you daijobu, Clemintina-chan?" inquired Sherbet as she began helping Clemintina to wipe the icing off with a towel.

Takumi, Laura, Hinata, and their Sweets Spirits were busy hiding their faces to keep me from seeing them laughing at me while Josh came over to try and help me in getting the icing out of my hair as he also asked, "Are you daijobu, Kaarii-chan?"

"I'm daijobu, but do you remember me telling you all about a certain someone who always triggered off bad vibes to run through me while back in junior high and high school?" I asked of Josh in return.

"Nani, but that's impossible! Daisuke is dead!" exclaimed Clemintina in concern.

"Not him, this was someone else; someone who Kaarii has told me used to pursue Momoko religiously even though she punched him in the mouth and knocked out a tooth" Josh replied as he sat me down on a stool and began to run a hot, wet comb through my hair to get rid of the remaining bits of icing.

I let Josh continue telling them the story while I pulled out cell phone and called Momoko.

Momoko's POV

"Hai, I know; I had just gotten off the phone with Isamu-chan who had warned me of his coming here" I replied with a sigh as I was standing in front of my locker and emptying it out. "Speak of the devil; he just walked in. I've got to run, now, Kaarii-chan!"

I hung up my phone as I placed my last book into the box I had been holding and took off running for the closest classroom and gently closed the door behind me, unaware that I had just entered the human anatomy class.

"Ah, excellent timing, wakai josei; we're just about to have one final overview of the female anatomy" the sensei inside told me as he gestured to a small, elevated platform.

"Gomen nasai, but I'm just in here to hide from an old flame that I thought I had extinguished" I replied with a respectful bow.

"Come, come now; there's iie reason to be shy" he said as he took hold of my wrist and began to lead me towards the platform.

"Hey, little girl, get your own gig!" shouted a voice from the doorway as a slightly older woman entered while wearing a dress, strode past us, and stepped onto the platform where she dropped her dress to pose before the rest of the class while I just closed my eyes.

"May I go now, onegai?" I requested of the sensei who released me to run back out of the classroom and barreled right into Sakamoto's arms.

"I was hoping you'd come running back to me like this. Have you finally realized that I'm much better for you than that loser, Luke?" Sakamoto said as he attempted to kiss me.

"Gomen nasai, but I'm engaged to Luke-chan" I said as I used the box in my arms to block him from kissing me.

"Hah! Luke can't even hold a candle to me, now. I take over my ojiisan's shop as of Monday; can he even say that?" Sakamoto asked of me.

"Luke and I are looking to open a massage therapy center together while he's working part-time in a physical therapy center" I told him firmly.

"In other words, until you two can succeed, he's only an employee while I am both owner and manager of my own retail store" Sakamoto said triumphantly.

"Omedeto, meanwhile, Luke and I will be making a higher rate of living than you" I replied with a smirk.

"You want to get your hands off of my fiancé or do I have to bust you up again?" asked a voice and we both turned to see Luke approaching us.

"You again; why must you always interfere with my winning back Momoko-chan?" Sakamoto asked in disdain.

"Because I'm not yours to win back" I replied as I stepped away from him and walked over to stand beside Luke.

"Daijobu, be that way; but when I'm rich and successful, maybe then you'll understand and come to your senses" Sakamoto shouted as he began to turn and leave in a sulk.

"I wouldn't go that way if I were you, Sakamoto-kun; they're staging a phony emergency out in front of the school and you won't want to get mixed up in it by accident" Luke called after him so that Sakamoto turned around and stormed past us to leave out the back way.

"I didn't know they were…" I started to say to Luke when he placed his hand over my mouth and signaled for me to follow him as we ran over to one of the side windows and watched as Sakamoto walked through a gauntlet of many of his own cruel tricks.

He opened the door and got a minor electric shock. While grasping his hand, he kicked the door open only to get drenched head to foot by a water bomb. He started to pass through when a pie was launched up to slap him in the face. A picture of his obasan dropped down on a string in front of him and startled him. While wiping the cream off of his face, he stepped through a doorway that was set up with so many snares that his clothes were literally ripped off of him as he passed through, leaving him in his shoes, socks, and underwear. Walking on a little further and he accidentally triggered a trip-wire that dumped a bucket of frogs over his head, which in turn activated anther bucket to be dumped and thus covered him with many bugs.

Crawling along on his knees with tears in his eyes, he came upon Kaarii who just held up a plate with a single red velvet muffin on it and she said, "I have iie qualms with you."

"Arigato" he said as he bit into the muffin which exploded in his face.

"Man, I need to find out who keeps messing with my ingredients" Kaarii said as she turned and began to walk away in a faux huff while thankful that she didn't get covered by the mess that now adorned Sakamoto.

"Daijobu, I get it; Mou~!" Sakamoto screamed at the top of his voice as he dropped to his knees in tears. "Jokes should be kept in their place and not always used on unsuspecting victims."

"Too bad you didn't realize that five years ago, otherwise you'd probably still have me. Oh well, your loss is mine and Luke-chan's gain" I said as Luke and I walked past him to joined up with the rest of our friends before walking away.

We'd fought many monsters, villains, crooks, and demons in our years, but nani brought us the greatest feeling of triumph as a team, was watching as Sakamoto learned a lesson most valuable.

Later that night, while Luke and I were up in my room making out, my cell phone rang and I paused long enough to check the caller's I.D.

"Bad timing, Miyako" I groused quietly.

"You'd better answer to see nani she wants or needs" Luke suggested.

"Moshi-moshi, Miyako-chan" I said as I answered the call.

"Gomen nasai, to bother you, Momoko-chan, but I was wondering if you and Luke would be available for a small conference with Obaachan, Takaaki, and myself tomorrow" she requested.

"A conference; about nani?" I asked in confusion.

"Perhaps conference isn't the correct word…more like a…consultation" she replied after trying to think of another word for nani she was trying to say.

"Just a moment, onegai" I told her before turning to Luke and telling him, "Miyako wants you and me to have a consultation with her, her obaasan, and Takaaki tomorrow."

"A consultation; at nani time?" Luke asked and I signaled him to wait a second while I inquired of Miyako.

"She wants to know if 9:00 would be daijobu" I told Luke after getting Miyako's answer and Luke nodded his head in agreement.

"Luke says that will be just daijobu. Do we meet at your place?" I asked of her and we agreed to meet at Miyako's home tomorrow morning and I soon ended the call and turned my phone off.

"Now, where were we?" Luke asked of me with a grin.

"I do believe you had your one hand caressing my stomach while the other one was holding my shoulder and you were kissing me from behind" I told him as I placed his hands back upon me and we began making out again.

The following morning, at precisely the agreed upon time, Luke and I met up with Miyako and Takaaki where she explained, "As you may already know, obaachan is getting on in years and is having a really difficult time of keeping up with the house."

"Understandable, this is a rather large home to care for" Luke replied while Takaaki came in, accompanying Kiyoko-san into the sitting room.

"I told you, Miyako-chan: I do not want some lazy, improper person trying to take care of me and this house. I don't understand why you can't help me out more yourself" Kiyoko said as she sat down in her favorite recliner.

"Because I don't have the time since opening the studio and store, Obaachan; otherwise I'd be more than happy to assist you" Miyako replied with mild hurt in her eyes.

"So why don't you and Takaaki move in to help out in the evenings?" Kiyoko inquired.

"If I may interrupt for a moment" I beckoned of them and Kiyoko nodded her head in agreement. "Nani is it that Miyako-chan is referring to that is upsetting you so much, Kiyoko-san?"

"She wants to bring in an in-home caregiver to assist me with my daily activities, but I don't want someone lazy and without proper manners and behavior to be in my home" Kiyoko-san replied honestly and I nodded my head in agreement.

"We have also considered moving Obaachan into a retirement center, but then there's the question of nani to do with the house; I don't want to see my childhood home fall to a developer" Miyako explained and again Luke and I were nodding our heads in agreement.

We fell into silent thought and contemplation when I finally decided to ask, "Would you allow me to help you, Kiyoko-san?"

"But nani about your job at the clinic?" Luke and Miyako inquired simultaneously.

"It was a temporary position and they iie longer need my help; at least they gave me a nice bonus as a bit of a send-off" I replied and both of them nodded their heads in understanding.

"Are you sure you're up to it, Momoko-chan?" Takaaki asked for the others.

"Hai, I'm sure and I do know my way around the house having slept over a few times in the past" I replied honestly.

"I'm willing to accept Momoko-chan's offer, but only on two conditions. First, you must start referring to me as Obaachan; the way my Miyako-chan does. And, second, you must agree to be a live-in caregiver" Kiyoko-san demanded.

"May I visit her from time to time?" Luke asked as we were both looking at each other in concern of being able to spend time together.

"Very well, but only as long as you two can keep it discreet and brief" Kiyoko-san replied and I began to rethink my offer, but since it was already on the table, I couldn't pull out now.

"We'll be here on Sundays since we'll be closed then, so you two can enjoy each other much more fully then" offered Miyako as she could see the concern that Luke and I were sending each other; we really enjoyed our time together.

"I'll start Monday morning then. Luke and I still have to prepare to graduate tonight and Sunday will allow me the time I need to pack up my things so as to move in on Monday" I offered and all agreed to this.

As soon as graduation was over, Luke and I went out to dinner and dancing together before returning home where we took a bath together. After tucking me in and kissing me oyasumi nasai, he left out my door to return home, though since his imoto-tachi were spending less and less time there, he was beginning to feel a little lonely when we weren't together.

Isamu's POV

I arrived home late and found Luke crashed out on the couch in his pajamas. Smiling down at him, I continued on to my room to find Ami sound asleep and sprawled out in the middle of our futon. Quickly pulling out a change of clothes, I slid into my pajamas and left back out of the room with a blanket in my arms to join Luke in sleeping on the couch. While covering us with the blanket, Luke awoke briefly to look up and smile at me as I settled down beside him and we curled up tighter together to fall back to sleep.

Early the following morning, Luke told us of how Momoko was moving into the Gotokuji household to act as Kiyoko-san's live-in caregiver with a somewhat sad look on his face.

"Man, you're only being granted brief and discreet visits and Sundays to spend with Momoko; that's going to be rough" I noted with disdain and sympathy in my voice.

"Not to mention expensive for both Miyako and Kiyoko" added Ami while briefly looking up from her school books. "It'd be cheaper for Kiyoko to move into a retirement center."

"But nani would happen to that gorgeous house she lives in?" I asked of her.

"You do have a point there. Nani with the way the economy is going, it'd probably fall to a land developing company" Ami replied in realization.

"And that's something neither of the ladies wants to see happen" Luke informed us and we nodded our heads in understanding.

"How much would upkeep on a place like that run?" I then posed to Luke who looked up at me in surprise before going deep into thought on the matter.

"Whatever the cost, I'm sure Luke can't afford to buy the place and continue paying the rent on the apartment. And let's face it, you and I can't afford the rent on the apartment either" Ami noted to me and I had to agree with her; I was already paying for the property that Kanta and I would soon be working on together so as to open our kendo school/gift store, though Luke continued sitting on in silence.

Momoko's POV

Luke was helping me to move into Miyako's old bedroom when he requested permission to look at the outer buildings on the property. I watched him from the upstairs window as he checked over the gazebo, the two sheds, and the koi pond, even measuring the size of them.

When he was done, he came back inside, but sat down to speak with Kiyoko-san on a few things that I couldn't hear, but when I descended the stairs after unpacking my last bag, I found him sitting with her in the sitting room while sharing a cup of tea as he read over some papers on the house and property.

Keeping my manners in place, I quietly knelt down at the table to await Kiyoko-san's instructions while wearing an apron over my clothes.

"Ah, Momoko-chan, you are right on time" Kiyoko-san said as she acknowledged me while setting her cup down onto the tray just as Luke was doing the same of his.

Bowing to both of them, I picked up the tray and carried it out of the room and back to the daidokoro where I washed them up before returning to the sitting room.

"Gomen nasai, Obaachan, but have you thought of nani you would like for dinner tonight?" I asked of her politely.

"How about some of that chicken sushi that you make and that Luke here has been telling me all about" requested Kiyoko-san and I bowed to her again before turning and rising up to go get started.

I was just about to start placing the rice onto the sheets of sea weed when Luke and Kiyoko-san entered the daidokoro, "I eagerly wait to learn of your decision, Luke-chan."

"I'll get in touch with a few people, get some figures drawn up, and will then let you know nani the results are" Luke said to Kiyoko-san as she waited for him by the doorway while he paused to kiss me sayonara on the cheek before turning and leaving back for home…and all I could do was to silently wonder on just nani it was that they were talking about.

Later that evening, after seeing Kiyoko-san off to bed, I decided to take another look around the house to make sure all was secured when there was a knock on the front door. Looking at the door in puzzlement, I cautiously walked up to it and checked to see who was outside to find Sakamoto standing on the front porch.

"Sakamoto-kun, nani on earth are you doing here at this hour?" I asked of him in disbelief as I answered the door.

"I could very well ask you the same; I went to see you at your house when your imoto told me that you were living here now" he replied quite firmly.

"I'm now performing as live-in caregiver to Miyako's obaasan and I just saw her off to bed, so keep your voice down" I fussed at him in a quiet, but slightly angry voice.

"Daijobu, but the least you can do is to give me on final chance to try and talk you into leaving Luke and accompanying me to Okinawa" he replied while dutifully keeping his voice low, too.

"Gomen nasai, but I wouldn't leave Luke for all the rice and tea in all of Asia. Besides, do you even care that he and I are engaged to be married now?" I told him in response.

He began to blink his eyes in quick succession showing his surprise when he finally asked of me, "Nani; when did that happen?"

"Middle of our first year of college; and as you can guess, I said, 'Hai'" I told him while removing my bow from my hair.

"So I guess this means that you aren't going to come with me to Okinawa to take over my ojiisan's store; you can at least give me a final sayonara kiss" he said as he firmly took hold of my wrist and turned me around to face him.

"Get your filthy hands off of my wakai friend" a slightly deeper and muffled voice said from behind Sakamoto and he slowly turned around to see Kiyoko-san standing behind him, her false-teeth in a glass in her room, and wielding her cane in a threatening manner.

"GAH!" Sakamoto screamed out in terror as he took in the sight and quickly let go of my wrist as he turned and ran out the door while still screaming in terror as he ran off down the street.

"I'll go close the gate and will then be right in, Obaachan" I informed her with a smile as she watched me slip into my shoes to dash out to close and lock the gate before returning inside and seeing Kiyoko-san back to bed.

"Who was that nekkyo boy anyways?" Kiyoko inquired curiously.

"A boy I dated for about a week way back in Junior High, but broke it off with him when he turned into a real jerk by teasing and pranking me relentlessly" I replied while tucking the dear woman into bed. "He's also been continuing to try to pursue me, and was just now trying to convince me to leave Luke, take up with him, and to move to Okinawa with him."

"You're not going to, are you, Momoko-chan?" she asked of me in concern.

"Iie, I'd have to be completely nekkyo to leave Luke for a loser like that guy. Besides, he's leaving tomorrow and I just took up the responsibility of helping you" I told her with a light yawn.

"Daijobu, oyasumi to amai yume, Momoko-chan" she bid me as I placed a kiss upon her cheek, stood up, and made ready to leave out her bedroom door.

"Oyasumi to tanoshii yume, Obaachan" I replied with a smile as I gently closed the door and soon entered the room next to hers, but I left the door open in case she should need anything of me in the middle of the night.

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><p><strong>Carly (giggling): It sure seems as though Sakamoto may have <strong>_**finally**_** learned his lesson this time.**

**TCW (chuckling): Let's hope!**

**Carly: So nani is in store for the next chapter?**

**Next time…**

**Momoko: Many of our friends are opening up their businesses!**

**Luke: Including us!**

**Kaoru: Rikiya and I get the biggest surprise of our lives!**

**Josh: And I finally manage to build up the nerve to ask Kaarii a **_**very**_** important question.**

**Clemintina and Sherbet: OOH, we can't wait!**

**Luke, Momoko, Kaoru, and the others: Who said that?**

**TCW: All this and much, much, MUCH more coming soon!**

**Carly and Momoko: Meanwhile be sure to leaves us some polite reviews, onegai shimasu!**


	50. Taking Care of Business

**Thank you all for the many great reviews! And with this chapter, we end Part 4 as we join our heroes as they set up and begin…**

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><p><strong>Taking Care of Business<strong>

Rikiya and I had just finished clocking in and were on our way to get our day started when our boss summoned over the intercom, "Rikiya, Kaoru…get your o-shiri-tachi to my office on the double."

"He's in a bright mood this morning, isn't he?" Rikiya commented to me with a grin.

"He must be" I replied as we began to hasten our pace towards the office; normally if the boss was in a foul mood, he'd open his door and shout for us to get to his office.

When we arrived, we politely knocked on the door to have our boss call out, "Enter."

"You requested our presence, sir" I said as we entered and took up a stance so that we stood straight at attention.

"At ease" he commented and we relaxed out stances. "You know when I look at you two I can only see progress. You, Kaoru, have gone from being a timid basket case in regards to sharks to being one of the few people I trust to swim in the tank with them. You have grown the most and just about all of the animals here respect you for it.

"Rikiya, you have not only shown yourself to have a cool head in the face of anxious situations, but you have also shown yourself to have a deep care of these facilities that I thought only I, outside of your beautiful fiancé, could feel for this place. That's why I'm giving you my keys and the access codes to everything. You are to take over running the aquarium while your wonderful wife-to-be will be the one to swim in it from here on out."

"Arigato, sir, but if I may ask: Why?" I inquired after Rikiya and I shot each other looks of confusion.

"You do deserve to know that, don't you? Very well, I have an inoperable cancer and have been given only six months to live…at best. So I'm leaving to spend as much of my remaining time with my wife, our children, and our grandchildren and I don't want some incompetent baka to try taking over my job. So from here on out, this aquarium belongs to the two of you and to your future children" he answered as he placed the last of his personal photos into his briefcase, closed and locked it. "Take good care of this place or I'm going to come back and haunt you until your time comes" he then added as he placed a kind hand upon Rikiya's shoulder.

"Arigato, sir" I replied while wiping away the tears and looking at the floor; I don't like losing friends.

He quietly lifted my chin to make me look up at him and kissed me on the forehead before saying, "I'll miss you too, kid; take care of our finned friends and see to it that when I'm gone that they bury me on the premises."

I tearfully nodded my head as I hugged him and with that, he turned and left.

"Come on, Kaoru-chan; we've got an aquarium to run" Rikiya said quietly as he took up the keys and headed out the door to open up while I went to get changed so as to start feeding the animals.

Kanta's POV

Isamu and I had just finished getting our new store/school painted, the shelves put up, and the fountain at the entrance set up and running when the first of many deliveries arrived. Admitting the delivery men into the warehouse, I began to sign all of the paperwork while Isamu took up some of the boxes and began to scan them into our computerized inventory control system. Soon many other deliveries arrived and we were signing for and scanning them into the computer, too.

"Well, that's the last of the shipments until we place our next orders" I announced to Isamu as she was scanning the last box of items into the computer.

"Great, I'll start setting out the jewelry if you'll start setting up the weaponry" Isamu replied with a smile as she took up six large, flat boxes and carried them out to the display cabinet.

While she was working, I took a ring box out of my pocket and secretly set it down on the counter before turning and started to set up some of the kendo swords on the wall by the classroom's door.

"Hey, Kanta-chan, do you have any idea as to nani this ring is; it doesn't match any of the ones in the system" Isamu requested of me as she picked up the box I had set upon the counter.

"Iie, maybe you should open it and see if the S.K.U. number matches any of those on file" I suggested to her while setting out some cosplay swords.

I had gotten Luke to help me in choosing an engagement ring when we both spied the same ring that we thought would be just perfect for Isamu; it was a single large emerald surrounded by a circle of onyx in a silver setting.

I watched as she opened the box and gasped quite loudly as she clamped a hand over her mouth in surprise as she saw the note I had placed inside the box. She then slid the ring onto her ring finger and glanced over in my direction with tears in her eyes.

"Hai, of course I will, you big goofball" Isamu said as she wrapped her arms around me from behind and I turned around to smile down at her.

"Of course you will nani?" I asked of her.

"Of course I'll marry you" she answered as I pulled her chin up to look at me as I leaned down and kissed her soundly.

We decided to postpone setting up for a little while for a make-out session in which we pulled our shirts off as we held onto and kissed each other while continuing to remain celibate until the day we were married.

Momoko's POV

Sunday finally arrived and, just as Miyako and Takaaki were arriving, I left with Luke to ride off for our day-long date. We were riding along when he pulled up in front of this empty building and, pulling out a key, he beckoned me inside.

"It almost looks like a clinic of some sort" I said quietly to Luke as he led me inside.

"You're not too far from wrong" Luke replied as he unlocked the door just past the waiting room and led me further into the back where some work was being done and took me to the first room that had been completed.

The walls were painted pale lavender and in the middle of the room was a massage couch while a small desk sat off to one side against the far wall and an off white, plush carpet covered the floor.

"This is a massage clinic!" I exclaimed quietly.

"And not just any massage clinic; it's _our_ massage clinic" Luke replied with a smile as I turned around to look at him in surprise. "Of course, it's still not nearly done, but we should be able to open in a couple of weeks. The real work will be done by the end of the week and then we get to shopping for the necessities and décor."

"Oh, I can't wait!" I exclaimed.

"Well, if you think that's something, then just wait until I tell you the about the really big surprise I have in store" Luke replied mystically and I turned to look at him in anticipation of learning nani he had in mind.

"Nani surprise is that?" I asked of him, but he placed a finger upon my lips.

"Now, if I tell you that, then it won't be a surprise, now will it?" he replied and I kissed the tip of his finger as I agreed to let it go.

He then led me to the already finished office and sat me down at the computer which he then turned on and, when it finished booting up, said, 'Ohayo, Momoko-chan!'

Laughing with excitement I began to peck at the keys as I was eager to learn how everything was set up while Luke just chuckled at me before saying, "Come on, now; you've still got plenty of time to learn all that."

"But I'm really eager to learn all of this" I replied with a smile.

"I know, but if we don't leave soon, we can't get back to our date" he told me and I couldn't get the computer shut back down fast enough.

"Wait, nani is with the many MP3 players?" I asked as I gave pause to notice the many small music players sitting on the side of the desk and getting their batteries charged.

"They're for the soothing and relaxing music that will be played while the patients are being worked on; one for each room and with a different styling so as to match the environment that each room creates so as to add to the relaxation that each room instills upon the patient. It's not easy to just explain, but once everything is finished, I'll give you a first-hand experience" Luke explained as he locked the office door and we soon left to continue our date.

We soon pulled up in front of Kaarii and Josh's new Patisserie only to meet up with many of our friends as they were also looking around their new store.

Kaarii's POV

I was engrossed in a conversation with Isamu and congratulating her on her new engagement when I heard the door's bell chime and looked up to wave as Momoko and Luke entered the shop.

"Hey, you two; I thought for a moment that you guys were going to be an iie show or something" I exclaimed as I greeted Momoko with a hug while Luke was paying attention to the ring on Isamu's finger.

"Gomen nasai, but Luke was showing me the new massage center that's still under construction" Momoko replied with a bright smile.

Kanta soon came back out from the back when we heard Luke exclaim, "Hey, Kanta-kun; welcome to the family! Hurt Isamu in any way and you're going to learn a new meaning to the word 'pain'."

"Understood" Kanta said with a nervous gulp as he stared into Luke's threatening eyes.

"Now you know how my family feels" Momoko replied smartly and Luke turned around to blush in reply while the rest of us enjoyed a good laugh.

"So where's Josh?" Ami inquired while looking into one of the display cases that were soon to be filled with all sorts of pastries.

"He's in the back finishing up some of the items" I replied while noticing the way Luke kept looking around every time Clemintina flew past him; even Momoko seemed to be looking around when Sherbet flew past her.

Just then Josh exited out from the back with a rack of pastries which he soon began setting out into the display cases while informing me, "The ice cream cakes will be ready in a few minutes; I've just got to put the last few finishing touches on them."

"Okay; are you sure you don't want me to help you out back there?" I asked of him concernedly, after all, it was part my shop as well.

"Iie, iie, I've got everything under control; you just stay up here and add any and all finishing touches that you feel are necessary while entertaining our pre-opening guests" Josh insisted, albeit nervously…as though he were hiding something, but I decided to let it go.

"Daijobu then; just don't hesitate to call me if you should need any help" I replied lightly while watching him slip into the back.

Josh's POV

When I returned to the back, I breathed a sigh of relief before pulling out a box from my pocket and opened it to gaze down upon the ring inside with a smile while thinking, 'I do hope she likes it and says "Hai" when I ask her to be mine.'

With that I turned and got right back to work on finished up the ice cream cakes as well as the cake that I was making for Kaarii's grand opening celebration, though, in truth, I was holding that cake back for our real grand opening the next day. The cake I was most concerned with was the one that I was going to set her ring upon.

Kaarii's POV

While Luke and Pazu were hanging up the 'Grand Opening' banner outside and above the shop's door, Momoko stood back, helping them to make sure it was balanced. They soon returned inside and stored away the two step ladders while I was helping Josh to set the ice cream cakes into the glass-front freezer.

"I just wish Miyako and Takaaki could be here for our little pre-opening celebration" I noted and Momoko nodded her head in understanding before checking her watch.

Luke looked over to her and she held up four fingers to indicate that she still had four hours until she had to get back to work.

I then glanced over to one of the display tables to see Sherbet grasping onto her arm while crying and saw the broken rubber band that must have snapped her on the arm. I was about to approach to check up on her when I noticed Luke glancing around with a concerned look on his face.

"Nani is wrong, Oniichan?" Ami asked of him.

"I hear nani sounds like a small child crying, but I'm not seeing anything; I want to help them" Luke answered while approaching the table, but looked out the window.

Clemintina was flying over to Sherbet to check on the extent of her injury when she accidentally ran into Momoko who turned and looked around in puzzlement before asking, "Did anyone see a butterfly fall onto the floor; I felt like I just got hit by one."

Closing my eyes in a moment of thought, I finally informed the two little Sweets Spirits, "Daijobu, I know you have a way of making yourselves visible to those select few who don't have Sweets Spirits of their own. So go ahead and let our friends see you, onegai."

I could already tell by the looks on my friends' faces that they thought I had just gone off the deep end, but when Clemintina raised her wand and made herself and Sherbet visible, they looked down at them in surprise. Though, it really surprised me when Luke approached Sherbet and began to check her arm for her.

"I bet that hurts" he said sympathetically as he noticed the bright red mark on her upper arm and even looked like it was bleeding a little.

Stepping back a little, Luke extracted his communicator and called out, "Solar Blade" as he transformed into his alternate persona much to our Sweets Spirits' surprise. Once done, he re-approached Sherbet and briefly placed his hand against her back as he said, "Healing Hand."

When he pulled his hand away, Sherbet's injury was gone and she iie longer felt any pain as she looked up at him and, sniffling a little, flew up to hug him as she said, "Arigato!"

"Doitashimashite, little one" Blade replied with a gentle smile and she soon flew up to land upon his shoulder.

"Did I hear Sherbet-chan crying?" inquired Josh as he burst out from the back with a look of concern on his face which grew to even more concern when he saw her sitting upon Blade's shoulder while Clemintina stood in Momoko's hand. "You guys can see them?"

"I told them to make themselves visible to the others" I confessed as Clemintina returned to sit upon my shoulder while Sherbet seemed torn between staying on Blade's shoulder and flying over to Josh's shoulder as she was a little awestruck with Blade.

"Well, it looks like you've found yourself another friend, Sherbet-chan" Josh said with a light smile when she finally flew over to stand upon his shoulder.

"Un, he healed my arm, too!" Sherbet exclaimed happily while showing off her arm to Josh.

"Nani happened to it?" Josh inquired of her.

"That rubber band wasn't coming off of the flowers and when I finally started getting it to come off, it broke and snapped me on the arm, left a cut too" Sherbet answered while holding onto her arm in memory of the pain.

Walking over to Blade, Josh bowed humbly as he said, "Arigato for helping and healing Sherbet-chan, Blade-sempai."

"Doitashimashite, friends help friends, Josh-kun" Blade replied before reverting back to his street form.

"So how many Powerpuffs Z members are there?" inquired Clemintina; as far as she knew Josh and I were the only two.

"There are twelve of us" Isamu answered just as Kuriko, Ken, Kaoru, and Rikiya entered the store and were also soon being allowed to see the two Sweets Spirits.

"They're fascinating little specimens of a micro-culture of whimsical flying beings!" Ken noted as he looked down upon Clemintina and Sherbet.

"Nani did he say?" Sherbet asked of Clemintina who just shrugged her shoulders in equal confusion.

"Hai, they are cute little fairies aren't they?" Kuriko replied as she too looked down upon them with a grin; she was one of the few who actually understood nani Ken said.

"Do you think I may borrow them to run a battery of tests upon?" Ken asked of me and I could only look at him in disdain.

"They're intelligent people, Ken; not science experiments" Luke gently chastised him.

"Not to mention our partners" I added in disbelief of Ken's audacity.

"I wasn't going to dissect them" Ken returned and both Clemintina and Sherbet took off for the top of the frozen treats' cooler.

That was when we heard the sound of light snoring and all turned to notice Kaoru sitting at a table and taking a nap.

"You'll have to forgive her; it's been a rather interesting day at the aquarium" Rikiya replied before telling us nani all had happened.

"Omedeto on becoming the managers and caretakers of the aquarium" Kanta expressed to him.

"Arigato; say, where are Takaaki and Miyako?" Rikiya then asked as he noticed our missing friends.

"They're spending time with Kiyoko so that Luke and I can have some personal time; only another one and a half hours, Luke-chan" Momoko replied as she glanced at her watch.

"The cake's done" Josh called out as he came out from the back, pushing a cart with a covered cake on top.

"Here's an idea: after we share in some cake, I'll take you home early so that Miyako and Takaaki will have time to stop by and also join the party" Luke suggested to Momoko and she nodded her head in agreement.

Josh pulled the lid off with ceremonial flair and I gave pause to stare at it in surprise as it wasn't the grand opening cake I had envisioned. Instead, it was a marble cake with ganache filling in between the three layers and buttercream frosting with pink pearlescent decorating dust on top. There were also purple and pink frosting roses with green stems and leaves on top and with red frosting irises on the sides. It had a border of pink leaves with a pale pink base coat. At the top center of the cake was a ring box that bore a silver ring with a pink pearl surrounded by many small pink diamonds and written just below, in the center of the cake, were the words, 'Kaarii-chan, will you marry me?'

I looked up at Josh in complete surprise and tears in my eyes as I set the knife down upon the cart.

"I wanted to find a really special occasion and manner in which to do this and this is the only thing I could think of" Josh told me quietly as I glanced back down at the cake in surprise.

I remained shocked and speechless when Josh reached down and extracted the ring from the box, knelt down on one knee, took a hold of my hand, and asked, "So nani do you say; will you marry me?"

"Hai" I squeaked as our friends applauded while he stood up and slid the ring onto my finger as he also kissed me which we soon deepened much to the pleasure of our friends and my father.

I then beckoned Luke to slice up the cake which he did so and was soon even serving it up to us and the others.

Momoko's POV

Once Luke and I had finished our slices of cake, we congratulated and bid oyasumi to our friends as we rode back to Kiyoko's home where we were met with questioning looks. I quickly explained and told them how excited Kaarii was to show off her new engagement ring to them and they soon departed after hugging and kissing Kiyoko oyasumi. Much to my happiness, Kiyoko permitted me and Luke to spend our last few minutes of our Sunday together up in my room where Luke and I made out quietly until it was time for him to leave.

Seeing him to the door and waving as he left, I then returned inside and locked up the house before getting back to helping Kiyoko-san.

"So now Kaarii and Josh are engaged; I guess that means all twelve of you are to marry one day" Kiyoko commented as I was tucking her in for the night.

"Hai and I don't know who was happier: Josh for Kaarii's saying 'Hai'; Kaarii for having Josh propose to her; or her father for her accepting the proposal" I replied while sitting upon Kiyoko's bedside.

"Well, I plan on being around long enough to see my first great-grandchild, so I'm also looking forward to Miyako's and Takaaki's wedding" Kiyoko informed me and I lightly giggled at her eagerness.

"I'm sure you will" I replied as I kissed her on the cheek and we soon bid each other oyasumi.

As I walked to my room, I gave pause to think of the years gone by as well as wondering just nani the future held for us. But, only time will provide that answer, I realized as I settled down into my bed and soon drifted off to sleep and dream of mine and Luke's wedding.

The following morning, after getting Kiyoko up and dressed, I began to prepare breakfast when I noticed a group of men with clipboards in hand walk over to the two outbuildings that were on the property and began taking measurements and making notes while talking with one another.

"Ah, it looks like the contractors have finally arrived; how exciting" I heard Kiyoko say from the door to the backyard.

"I tell you, if my wife found out about this project, she'd insist on having this done in our own home. Must be nice to be able to afford this kind of luxury" I heard one of the men say as he and the men with him all shared a raucous laugh.

"Hai, well the client wants this for his bride-to-be and, from nani I understand, the inside of the house is truly magnificent as well" the one man in a suit said as they looked over his notes.

"At least they won't have to worry about privacy screening, those bamboo rushes must be some ten feet tall and look to be a good four feet thick and then there's the fence to keep intruders out" noted another man as he approached after checking the fence-line on the property.

"Breakfast is ready, Obaachan" I informed Kiyoko as I set a plate down at her spot at the table. "Do you have any idea as to nani is going on?"

"You mean nani are the contractors up to; I'm not too sure, but I was told it was part of a grand surprise for someone special" Kiyoko replied with a smile. "After breakfast is done, why don't we take some tea out to them?"

"Hai, Obaachan" I replied as I was finishing up the last few bites of my breakfast before turning and setting up four cups of tea for the contractors.

After Kiyoko had finished eating, I then washed the dishes before taking the cups out to the gentlemen only to be proven somewhat wrong on that statement.

"Konnichiwa, would you gentlemen care for some tea courtesy of the homeowner?" I inquired as I held up the tray for them.

"Arigato, though I must say that you'd be a lot cuter in a French maid's uniform" replied one of the men, causing me to look at him in shock while blushing deeply.

"Forget that, she'd be drop-dead gorgeous with iie clothes on at all" noted another as he took up a cup of tea which caused me to not only blush even deeper, but I glared at him in disbelief of his audacity to make such a hentai comment.

"Mind your manners, children; this wakai josei is not only the lady of the house's caregiver, but is also the client's fiancé" chastised the foreman firmly as he took a cup from the tray I was holding and bowed to me.

"He must be a really lucky fellow then" noted the first man to critique me.

"Actually I feel like I'm the lucky one. Though you both should also feel lucky that he isn't here or you'd be buried in the dirt up to your ankles…_head first_" I replied with a smile.

"Gomen nasai, we didn't mean any harm" apologized the second with a cowed expression on his face.

"So at any rate, can you tell me nani this is all about?" I asked as I redirected my attention to the foreman.

"Gomen nasai, okusama, but we're not allowed to discuss that topic with anyone outside of the client himself; he swore us to secrecy" noted the foreman's assistant to me while tapping on a calculator that was attached to his clipboard.

"Ohayo" a voice called out and we all turned to notice Luke walking up and waving to us.

"Ohayo, Luke-chan; nani brings you here instead of going to work?" I greeted him excitedly.

"I came by to learn nani these guys have to say about a secret project that they may be working on sometime soon" Luke replied before sending me on my way back inside to take care of Kiyoko with a gentle love-tap to my o-shiri.

About another thirty minutes later, Luke was knocking on the door and requesting permission to have a talk with Kiyoko and so I admitted him once she accepted his request.

I knelt down at the low table that lay between Luke and Kiyoko and quietly listened to them, "So nani is the verdict?"

"They'll be able to start tomorrow and the work will be minimally invasive as the buildings and fencing are all in fantastic condition" Luke replied to Kiyoko with a smile.

"Nani about the koi pond; will that have to be destroyed?" she asked with a bit of concern.

"Iie, in fact, they won't have to go anywhere near it due to the size and layout of the property" Luke replied and Kiyoko smiled in relief.

"You did say that the work would be minimally invasive, nani all does that entail?" Kiyoko asked.

"They'll have to run both a couple of intake and drainages line to and from the water main, but that shouldn't affect either the house or the koi pond in any way" Luke answered with a mild shrug of his shoulders.

"And you will be able to afford all of it, plus the house, and your massage center?" Kiyoko asked and I had to do a double-take as I understood nani she was asking him.

"It'll be a bit of a stretch, but it shouldn't be a problem; especially once the massage center opens and we're able to start seeing patients" Luke replied lightly.

"So when did you wish to move in?" Kiyoko asked and I looked up at her in surprise.

"Whenever, I'm in iie hurry; Isamu just moved out and Ami can't move into her new apartment for at least another month or so" Luke informed her and I could see the shine in his eyes.

"Gomen nasai, but exactly nani are you talking about and nani are those men supposed to be doing to the outbuildings?" I asked politely.

"It's a surprise, Momoko-chan; if I tell you now, then it won't be a surprise, now will it?" Luke replied smartly.

"Can you at least explain nani she means about your moving in and buying the house?" I asked of him.

"Didn't I tell you? Luke is buying my house once he gets everything else squared away, including the improvements to the backyard" Kiyoko replied with a giggle.

"But that's not for some time yet, so meanwhile, it's still Obaachan's house" Luke said as he rose up, kissed each of us on the cheek and left.

Later that night, I smiled up at the stars in the sky and breathed in a happy breath of air as I realized that I am already living in our future home.

"I wonder nani the future holds for us?" I asked of the moon in the sky before turning in for the night.

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><p><strong>Carly: Awesome chapter, TCW-kun!<strong>

**TCW: Arigato, I'm glad you enjoyed it.**

**Carly: Indeed; so nani is in store for Part 5 and the next chapter?**

**Next time…**

**Momoko: We'll be starting off Part 5 on a sad note.**

**Luke: Of all things for me to be asked to do, why did they have to ask me to do this?**

**TCW: All this and so much more still to come.**

**Carly and Momoko: Meanwhile, be sure to leave us some nice reviews, onegai!**


	51. Part 5 & Losses

**Part 5: Six Weddings and a Funeral**

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><p><strong>As I'm sure you can tell by the title of Part 5, this isn't exactly going to be an entirely happy start. But, without further ado, let us get underway as we see how Luke must cope with some…<strong>

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><p><strong>Losses<strong>

Miyako had arranged to close shop early Friday to discuss arrangements for her and Takaaki's wedding with Kiyoko while allowing me to leave so as to spend time with Luke. He was excitedly showing me around the newly finished massage center that we would still have to purchase supplies for when he got a call on his cell phone from home.

"Hey, Dad; what can I do for you? WHAT? Sure, I understand, but… Very well, but you tell them that I expect an explanation when I get there. Fine, I'll be there just as soon as I take Momoko home, bye" I heard Luke say as he snapped his phone closed before turning to look at me with hurt in his eyes.

"Nani is the matter?" I asked of him as I placed my hands against his chest.

"They've all been sentenced to death" Luke said simply as he took hold of my hand and led me back outside while locking the door. "I have to return home to help them track down Bell as she's refusing to cooperate with the authorities."

"I'm coming with you" I told him as I pulled out my compact.

"Are you sure; we may be forced to watch them deliver capital punishment to my family" Luke told me and I swallowed hard.

"And you're going to need me there if that should prove the case" I informed him and we transformed together to fly off towards Townsville.

Townsville: The Professor's POV

It was hard enough knowing what awaited us, but watching as a man-hunt for Bell was being initiated just so as to put all four of us to death was harder still; she was only delaying the inevitable.

I still remember when we were apprehended and brought before a court of justice where I was accused of creating three murder weapons in the form of children. Bloom was accused of killing the mayor; Bonbon was accused of destroying the naval, air force, and military bases; while Bell stood accused of mass murder of the area known as Little Tokyo. The punishment for all of these heinous acts was death by lethal injection.

Bonbon, Bloom, and I were prepared to cooperate, but Bell took off like a shot and went into hiding. While the search was underway, it was learned that Bell had agreed to turn herself in, but only to her Oniisan. They had spotted her, but she was in a place where they would never be able to access: the top of Mojo Jojo's observatory.

Helicopters were being dispatched to circle overhead to make sure she didn't try to escape, but they also knew that firing at her would only run the risk of destroying the observatory which was now publicly used by local astronomers.

"Well, Professor, she's your child/weapon; you call her down" Ms. Bellum said as she threw a megaphone into my hands.

"I'll try, but she's already said that she'll only come down for her big brother" I replied while walking up to the base of the volcano. "Come on, Bell, come down now; you're only delaying the inevitable."

There was no reply.

"Looks like she's decided to ignore you, too" Ms. Bellum said sternly.

"She may not be able to hear me because of the helicopters and the distance" I replied.

"Ms. Bellum, we've detected two small incoming projectiles approaching the area" reported a man wearing S.W.A.T. armor and holding a gun in his hands.

"Do you have any idea as to what they may be, Professor?" Ms. Bellum asked in anger.

"One of them may very well be Blade" I informed her and she looked at me in surprise.

"Blade is returning; what for?" she then demanded of me.

"To bring Bell in" I answered as I hung my head.

Just then, a black and red streak crossed the sky and began to circle the domed observatory.

Blade's POV

Blossom and I took up circling the volcano-top observatory while trying to spot Bell who soon came out of her hiding place and I flew down to take her up into my arms.

"It looks like the whole army showed up" I heard Blossom comment while glaring down at the ground below.

"Iie point in delaying the inevitable" I then informed her as Bell was sobbing into my chest as I took her miniature buster sword and tanto and passed them over to Blossom who tied them to her power-belt.

We landed and many people began to approach me so as to take Bell from my arms, but I passed her over to Blossom before pulling my sword and they all gave a moment's pause to stare at the weapon in my hand.

"What is the meaning of this? You were asked here to apprehend that little murderer and to turn her over to us" Ms. Bellum shouted as she began to approach Blossom.

"Not until I get a damned explanation!" I shouted and the armed forces held up their firearms to point them at me.

Ms. Bellum looked at me firmly but told me nani my family had been accused of.

"May I speak with them all privately?" I requested as I returned my buster sword to its sheath.

"Very well, I'll grant you thirty minutes with them; though I hope you will understand if we request that you ride in the back of the prison bus…" she started to reply but Blossom and I took flight to fly towards the prison where the other two girls were being held.

I had iie wish to speak with the Professor at this time as the answers I wanted would only come from my other two imouto-tachi.

Ms. Bellum must have already called ahead as the prison guards already had Bloom and Bonbon sitting in a secured conference room, though they were huddled together and holding onto each other as Blossom and I entered the room. Blossom set Bell down and she ran over to join her sisters while I knelt down to talk with them.

"Would you care to tell us what happened?" I asked of them keeping, my voice low so as not to scare them.

"I was taking a nap one afternoon and when I woke up, I was standing in the mayor's office with a gun in my hand and the mayor leaning upon his desk, dead" Bloom told me with tears in her eyes.

"I was playing hopscotch with my friends at school when I blacked out, but, when I came to, I was standing in the middle of the air force base with everything ablaze around me" Bonbon informed me before breaking out into tears.

"_I was on my way to my favorite ramen cart when my mind blanked. When I woke up as though form a dream or something, Little Tokyo was all torn up as though from a tornado and just about every single resident was dead_" Bell informed us in Nihon-go before sobbing her eyes out.

Just then, Ms. Bellum entered the room and stood with her arms crossed as she said, "The vile deeds have been done and there is no possible chance of exonerating them either" she informed us.

"Even though it doesn't really sound like they did it?" Blossom asked in disbelief.

"We have full video evidence of them being the guilty parties" she further informed us and we turned to look down at the trio in concern. "You'd better bring them along, their time is now."

"_I don't want to die in such a dishonorable manner; can I use seppuku instead_?" Bell pleaded with tears streaming from her eyes.

"We don't have the right tools for that and neither of us have the stomach to help" I told her as Blossom took her up in her arms while I took up the other two.

We entered a room with four exam beds inside and the Professor was already strapped down to one of them. Blossom and I were then escorted out of the room but led over to a window that looked into the room where we were being made to watch.

"What would you like done with the remains?" asked an officer as we walked up with a clipboard in hand.

"Why are they being made to undress and put on those hospital gowns for?" Blossom asked of me once I had signed to have my family buried beside my sister's grave.

"So their bodies can relieve themselves once they're dead" an officer informed me.

"I can't do this" Blossom said as she clamped one hand over her mouth as though she were going to be sick.

"I know it's hard, but we have to for them" I said as I whispered into Blossom's ear as she stood back up.

Intravenous lines had already been placed into their arms when I got her to turn back around and already they were injecting the anesthesia into their I.V.'s. The girls soon stopped crying and were asleep.

"Is that it?" Blossom asked of me with tears streaming down her cheeks.

"No, ma'am, that was just the anesthesia to make them sleep so that they can't feel the next part" replied the same officer just as the final medicine was injected into the I.V. bags.

A doctor stood off to one side eyeing his watch when he first approached the Professor and listened to his heart with a stethoscope before covering his head with the sheet and soon repeated the process with the others.

Blossom ran away from my arms at that moment and dashed into the nearest ladies' room where she began throwing up while sobbing her eyes out. Despite formality and the possibility of anyone else being in there, I entered the oteari to approach her and, once she was done, we took hold of each other to cry heavily.

In agreement with the paperwork I had signed, later that afternoon, they were buried without ceremony beside Blossom's grave while Hyper Blossom and I stood nearby watching. As the last casket was buried, the sky went red and a pink swirl of smoke began to fill the sky as Him, Brick, Princess, Boomer, Fuzzy, and the Gangrene Gang appeared out of the smoke.

"Aw, poor little Powerpuff Girls, cut down in the prime of your young lives and all because I made you do all of those naughty things" Him said as he began laughing maniacally before crowing out, "I've finally _won_!"

Hyper Blossom turned to look up into my face as I began to vibrate with bitter anger and hate.

I pulled my sword once more as Hyper Blossom pulled hers and we both pointed our weapons at Him while asking simultaneously, "You did _**nani**_?"

"You've won _nothing_ Him" we all heard another voice say as we looked up to see appear Blossom, in a floor-length white silken dress with wings upon her back and my old sword in her hands. "You've only brought about _your own_ end."

"**You**, what does it take to _**kill you**_?" asked Him as he glared at Blossom.

"Something you don't have" Blossom replied smartly before turning to the three small graves and holding her hand out as three orbs rose up from out of the graves, separated into two, and three flew into me while the other three flew into Hyper Blossom. "You may have cut them down in their prime, but they've just been redeemed by the powers-that-be and are therefore being given a second chance at life through my brother and his soon-to-be wife."

"Then I will hunt them down and bring them back here to see to it that they burn in the deepest, hottest parts of Hell!" shouted Him as he prepared to attack us.

"That won't happen!" I said in a deep growl as I felt my rage filling me.

"And to help you to exact justice, Blade, let us combine our three swords of love into one" Blossom said as she and Hyper Blossom place their swords against mine and they combined into one larger, double-edged sword that ended with a double-forked tip.

Pulling out a sword of his own, I engaged Him in battle. Sword clashed against sword as we used every trick and maneuver we knew. I had Him against the volcano, our swords pressed against each other when he tried to attack me with his one claw which I parried and returned in kind with my own claws, sending them home into his chest until he kicked me away.

Catching my balance, I jumped back in and began to attack his one claw the held his sword until I succeeded in cutting it off as he roared out in pain before clutching his wounded arm against himself.

"You…you forced them into doing those heinous acts that cost them their precious lives" I told him as I gasped for breath while standing a short distance away.

"If you're expecting me to apologize or beg for mercy then you have a very long wait" growled Him as he glared at me.

"I wouldn't show you mercy iie matter how much you begged anyways; _you don't deserve it_" I replied as I drew my sword up and made ready to strike again when he changed his shape into that of a giant centipede with a scorpion's stinger and attacked in return.

"Spinning Yo-yo" I heard Hyper Blossom call out as she ensnared his tail and cut it off with her old buster sword since her new one was now part of the buster sword I was fighting with.

"**OW**; why you wretched little…" began Him as he turned to try attacking her until I whistled to catch his attention.

"Hey, did you forget about me already?" I asked of Him as I jumped in and pierced my sword straight through his shoulder.

Pulling back and away, Him reverted to his normal form and summoned forth a giant scythe which he then began to try to attack all three of us with when he successfully knocked my sword from my hands and now stood over me, ready to strike with his scythe. A bright white light shined from Hyper Blossom's hips and, while watching, I saw both Bell's mini buster sword and tanto leave of out their sheaths and flew forward, slicing straight through Him and combined with my buster sword so that now it was almost as big as me.

While watching Him gasped in shock and pain, I rolled away, jumped up, and took my sword back into my hands. I could feel all the love of my family and friends now pulsing through the weapon and was now empowering me.

"I don't believe what you just said, Him! You made those girls do all of those things; I surrender my energies to Blade" shouted Princess in anger.

"I never met anyone with such a deep sense of respect for my forest and territory until that little funny-talking girl showed up to plant a bunch of trees and even gave me what she called a bonsai tree. I can't believe you'd do something as mean as that, Him, so I will also give energy to Blade" spoke up Fuzzy with tears in his eyes.

"Even though they were always messing up my plans, I always had such fun fighting with those three. It made me feel like Slade fighting with the Teen Titans in those cartoons, but I never really ever meant them any real harm. I'll never get the opportunity to tell them how much fun I had with them. I'm giving my energies to Blade, too" Brick said as he looked towards Him in anger.

Boomer said nothing, but turned and nodded his head to his brother as he sent Blade some of his energies as well.

"You can count us in on that, too, Blade! You may have been a bit harsh in exacting punishment upon us, but at least you didn't cause any of us to be sentenced to die" add Ace with his companions nodding their heads in agreement.

I felt their energies now flowing around me along with all of the other people of Townsville when I engaged Him in battle once more, though this time I was able to slice clear through his scythe and pierced my blade through his stomach and holding him in place as the blade was also piercing into the ground.

Leaping back and into the air, I gathered all of that energy into a massive orb, a veritable mini-sun, while Him was trying to pull my sword from his abdomen. I then saw both Blossom and Hyper Blossom grab hold of the grip on the sword and were holding it down in place and thus keeping him from removing it while I made ready to release one of my ultimate attacks upon Him.

"NO, you girls can't hold me here!" Him shouted at them when Boomer shot forward and jumped in to help shove the blade into Him even deeper while sending Blossom and Hyper Blossom away.

"Save yourselves! I wish to join my brother" Boomer spoke to them; speaking for the first time since Butch's death.

"Wait, you don't understand, Boomer" Blossom shouted but I could iie longer hold back as Brick ran forward to pull Hyper Blossom out of the way.

"Come on, Blossom; not even in your afterlife can you survive what Blade's about to do" Brick called over his shoulder when Blossom took flight and flew forward to take Hyper Blossom from his arms before flying to a safe distance behind me while Brick and his companions took to hiding in a safe zone.

"Super Nova Finish" I called out as I sent the energy orb down to be absorbed by Boomer and Him and I watched in concern for Boomer as the energy exploded in nani can almost be described as a nuclear explosion, minus the poisonous radiation, and then only large enough to create a crater with a one hundred foot diameter; my sword alone survived the onslaught.

"I've heard of losing one's temper, but you take the cake, Oniisan" Blossom told me while Hyper Blossom took hold of my shirt in her hand and so I turned to take her from my shimai's arms.

Setting Hyper Blossom back down on terra firma, I lowered down into the crater to extract my sword which soon returned into the five original weapons. Blossom's buster sword returned to her, Hyper Blossom's mini buster sword to her, while Bell's mini buster sword and tanto remained pierced into the bottom of the crater with my own.

Pulling them out, I bowed my head and murmured, "They served their purposes, Bell-chan; I'll keep them now in remembrance of you."

When I climbed back up out of the crater, I noticed another angelic-being, though this one was wearing a blue suit with yellow boots, gauntlets, and wore a blue full-face helmet that bore a yellow cross over the front of it and was holding Blossom by her ear and had her buster sword in his hand.

"That's it, young lady! I told you not to get involved in mortal affairs and here you've gone and done just that! Lift your dress and lower your panties right now" he demanded as a golden paddle formed in his other hand.

I shot forward, with my fists glowing with solar energies and belted him right in the mouth, shattering the lower part of his helmet and sent him flying back a few feet while shouting, "Leave my shimai alone!"

"Luke, do you have _any idea_ as to whom you just belted in the face?" Blossom asked of me in pure shock while clamping her hands over her nose and mouth.

"Iie, I don't know and I don't give a rat's o-shiri either" I replied firmly as I gave her back her sword, my old buster sword.

"Infidel; you shall now taste the wrath of my blade!" screamed the deity as he rose up and summoned forth his own sword.

"Knock it off, Gabe! I gave Blossom permission to overrule you" a second deity said as it enveloped all of us in a beam of light.

Growling up at the entity as I couldn't see it, I extracted my claws and made ready to do battle with it should the deity decide to attempt anything.

"But, sire…" the one identified as Gabe started to say in protest.

"I said enough, or do you wish to relinquish your position to Blossom?" threatened the other being.

"I'm not wearing that ridiculous get-up" Blossom said in reply.

"Very well; you have ten more minutes, Blossom" noted Gabe to her, indicating the amount of time she was being granted to remain with us and she bowed her head in acceptance of this.

"You know, they're really impressed with you and the other Powerpuffs Z up there" Blossom told me as I slowly dropped to my knees at her feet.

"Blossom, our imouto-tachi…" I started to say to her but was quickly at a loss for words.

"I know, Luke. Their unjust deaths are the sole reason why they are being granted a chance of a rebirth through you and Momoko-chan" she told me, but I still failed to understand completely.

"And nani of the Professor?" I asked of her as Hyper Blossom came up to wrap her arms around me; she was right, I did need her here with me.

"He's to undergo judgment as, even though our creation proved beneficial in the long run and our existence was accepted by the Devine One, making super-powered children out of sugar, spices, virtually everything nice and Chemical-X is still considered a crime against nature. I mean, I was kind of in hot water for creating you through similar methods and for our 'one-night stand', but when it was realized how much Momoko and I needed each other to meet-out justice to those who wronged us, they decided to look the other way to see if I'd successfully redeem myself. Needless to say, they were quite pleased with my work and were even more pleased when you sent me your sword; not very many guys up there with the audacity to carry a buster sword, let alone any women" Blossom informed me when there was a light rumble of thunder from the sky above us.

"Keep your shirts on; you've got her for eternity, all I have is a few minutes" I shouted up at the sky overhead in reply.

"Come on, Luke; we need to be getting home anyways. Miyako is probably wondering where we are so that I can take care of her obaasan for her" Momoko told me as she took hold of my arm and helped me to stand back up.

"Will I ever see you again, Blossom?" I asked of her as I realized that Momoko was right.

"I don't know; but I do know that when your own time comes, then we'll see each other" Blossom answered as we shared one final kiss as she slowly disappeared to return back to the other side.

Turning to Momoko, I nodded my head to her and we slowly lifted up off the ground and flew home.

Momoko's POV

It took us almost all evening to finally reach the shore of Nihon, when Blade became so overwhelmed with exhaustion and grief that he landed down on the beach and, kneeling upon the sand, broke out sobbing for the first time that day. I landed down behind him, wrapped my arms around him once again, and just held onto him while letting him release all of those pent up emotions. The sun had just about set when he was finally able to pull himself together and so we flew on towards Kiyoko-san's house.

We were met by Miyako at the door, whose look went from annoyance to solid concern when she saw the sad look upon Blade's face. Even Kiyoko and Takaaki sent him concerned looks as he and I sat down together in silence once Miyako had granted us entrance.

"How am I ever going to tell Ami and Isamu?" he finally asked of me after a few minutes.

"Just tell them truthfully and hold them as they release their own emotions, just don't be afraid to show them yours while you share with them" I quietly told him.

"It's late and I'm sure our friends would like to get some rest. Oyasumi to amai yume, Momoko-chan" Blade then bid me as he kissed me on the cheek and left to retrieve his bike from in front of the massage center.

"Is everything daijobu, Momoko-chan?" inquired Miyako quietly.

"Iie, it isn't, but ask me again in the morning and I'll tell you nani happened" I told her as I helped Kiyoko to change into her nightclothes after I had reverted back from being Hyper Blossom.

"You two didn't break-up, did you?" inquired Kiyoko with some concern.

"Iie, we're still happily engaged. Gomen nasai, but I'd rather not speak of it right now" I told her after getting Kiyoko settled into her bed and, after she accepted my answer, turned to see Miyako and Takaaki to the door.

Miyako was half way to the gate, just behind Takaaki, when she gave pause to send me one more concerned glance as I wiped a few stray tears from my eyes as I closed the door.

Early the next morning, Luke told Ami and Isamu nani had happened to their imouto-tachi when both girls broke down in his arms while he also shed many of his own tears. Once able to pull themselves together, the girls left for work and Luke returned to me.

Sitting down with Miyako and Takaaki while I tended to the house and Kiyoko-san, Luke told them of nani he had been forced to do and even Miyako was soon hugging and holding onto him as she released a few tears of sympathy while also trying to console him; Takaaki just sent a sad look to the floor as even he couldn't imagine having to endure nani Luke and I had just been through.

"I know it hurts, Luke-sempai, but remember nani your one shimai told you: Your imouto-tachi are being given a second chance at life, through both you and Momoko. So try and look on the bright side: when you and Momoko are married, you are going to be blessed with the pitter-patter of three sets of little girls' feet" Miyako noted to me and for the first time, Luke and I managed to share a genuine smile together.

Luke and I were then permitted to head off on a date together and we soon met up with Isamu and Ami at my parents' house where we told them of nani we had failed to realize until Miyako explained it to us in such a simple manner and even they were all starting to get excited about the idea.

"I guess that means you two should start thinking about your marriage arrangements" Mom then said and both Luke and I turned to look at one another as we knew she was right.

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><p><strong>Carly: I'm not too sure how I feel about this chapter, TCW-kun.<strong>

**TCW: Me either, but at least I gave kind of a lead-up to future chapters, especially the next one.**

**Carly: I do believe I saw it, but I'm going to ask anyways: So nani is in store for the next chapter?**

**Next time…**

**Momoko: Luke and I are really busy with getting ready for our wedding!**

**Miyako: Obaachan moves out so as to allow Luke and Momoko to move in just as soon as they return from their honeymoon.**

**TCW: All this and much more, coming soon.**

**Momoko and Carly-chan: Meanwhile, be sure to leave us some nice reviews, onegai!**


	52. Luke's and Momoko's Big Day

**Arigato for the great reviews, all! Now, let's get ready to join our friends as we get ready to enjoy…**

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><p><strong>Luke's and Momoko's Big Day<strong>

I was still hard at work taking care of Kiyoko when Miyako stopped in early to talk with me about my wedding dress as Luke and I were getting married in a few weeks.

"I want to wear a white dress, but I also want it to reflect both me and my other self virtually at the same time" I explained to Miyako while we were looking over some sample swatches of cloth.

"I think we can work with that concept" Miyako replied with a smile.

"Let's see, it's summer time, so I'll want to wear something light and airy, but modest" I told her and she directed my attention to a sample of silk.

"We can also use a red sash kind of as a belt and place your mini buster sword into it as an adornment. Nani about other adornments for the dress; we could use either white, pink, or even red sequins or beadwork to create a pattern on the front if you like" suggested Miyako while pulling out a piece of paper to draw up some designs.

"Should I go with a western dress or stick with a wedding-style kimono?" I asked of Miyako and we both went into thought on it.

"Well, Luke is from America, so maybe you should go with something more of a western dress" Miyako suggested to me and I gave pause to think about it.

"Maybe we should call and ask him once he goes on his lunch break" I added, though this decision was rather important.

"That sounds like a good idea to me, but meanwhile, we can at least get a basic design set down that could go either way" Miyako recommended and so I sat silently while she began working on the drawings of the finished products.

"It looks like those nice contractors have just finished the last of the work" Kiyoko noted to us as she entered the room.

"That just leaves the plumbers to come by and finish up whatever it may be that Luke's having done out there" I noted with a sigh as the suspense was virtually killing me.

"Now, now, you must have patience, Momoko-chan; Luke will tell you when he feels the time is right" Kiyoko told me in a reassuring manner just before turning to leave back out of the room.

I then realized that Miyako was indulged in getting her designs down and Kiyoko had left the room to use the oteari, so neither of them would be the wiser if I went out to take a peek. Quietly standing up from my seat, I tip-toed over to the door and slipped on my shoes while checking my surroundings for anyone watching before cautiously opening the door. Slipping out the door, I quietly closed it behind me and was just about to scamper down the steps when I felt someone strike me across the o-shiri with some folded papers.

"Iie peeking, young lady!" a harsh voice told me as I turned to see Takaaki standing behind me and glaring at me as though I were a child sneaking into the living room early Christmas morning.

"Hey, that's not nice, Takaaki-kun" I fussed at him while rubbing my backside.

"Neither is trying to spoil surprises that your fiancé is trying to set up for you; now get inside or I'll put you over my knee" Takaaki said as he chased me back inside.

Returning inside, I sat back down beside Miyako just as she was finishing up her drawings. Looking up to notice me pouting, she just rolled her eyes while lightly snickering.

"Do you believe that your fiancé just threatened to put me over his knee?" I asked her disgruntledly.

"Hai, but then Luke gave him permission should you try to spoil the surprise he's having done up for you; you're as bad as a child on Christmas morning" she informed me just as the phone began ringing.

"Moshi-moshi; konnichiwa, Luke-chan; hai, she tried, but Takaaki stopped her before she could even make it down the steps. Don't worry; they're covering the windows as we speak. (Giggles) That's nani Miyako just told her. Wonderful, we'll look forward to seeing you then, sayonara" Kiyoko had said as she was speaking to Luke over the telephone.

"Luke is coming over to join us for lunch, Momoko-chan, so you'd best get busy" Kiyoko informed me and so I rose up with a sigh and got to work on preparing lunch for everyone.

When Luke arrived, we all sat down to enjoy our lunch when the conversation quickly turned towards our upcoming wedding when Miyako disdainfully commented, "I can't believe the mayor wants you two to get married in front of such a large crowd and in such a public location."

"Well, Momoko was the very first Powerpuff Girl while Luke was the first Powerpuff Boy, so it only stands to reason that it would make sense to permit the citizens to be allowed to attend" Takaaki noted in return.

"True, though I was hoping for something like a wedding at the beach or something like that" I commented in honesty.

"I just hope the citizens don't get overzealous at the reception and create a raucous atmosphere out of nani should be a joyous occasion" Luke added with a sigh.

The conversation fell silent for a few minutes after that when I looked over to Luke and inquired, "So when am I going to be allowed to see nani was created in the backyard?"

"When you and I finish moving in after the honeymoon" Luke replied with a smile as he could tell that this was not the answer I wanted to hear.

"Oh, come on, Luke-chan; surely you can give her a brief walkthrough" noted Kiyoko in a mild rebuke.

"Perhaps you're right, Obaachan, but for now the paint, concrete, and grout are drying, so we can't go in just yet. Gomen nasai, Momoko-chan, but it'll take about forty-eight hours to dry and set and even then, we still need some extra-special supplies for it" Luke informed us.

"Oh, before I forget again, which would you prefer: a western-style wedding gown, or a wedding kimono?" Miyako asked, getting Luke's opinion.

"That's a good question; which do you think you'd prefer, Momoko-chan?" Luke then asked of me.

"I was thinking of a western-style, but with some Nihon-go flair added in" I replied and Luke nodded his head in agreement.

"I don't think that'll be a problem at all" Miyako then said as she pulled out her one drawing and began to get to work on it.

"Nani about your suit, Luke-chan?" I then asked of him.

"I think something matching would be appropriate, but I have to find a men's tailor who can assist me with the endeavor" he told me when we heard Miyako giggle as she pulled out a second piece of paper and began to draw with a fury.

"How do these look, Luke-sempai?" she then asked as she showed us the two finished drawings; one my dress and the other was a tuxedo for Luke.

"Are you sure you're up to the task of creating both?" Luke asked of her while looking at the two designs in astonishment while I was looking at them as well and with equal astonishment.

"The basics are easy, in fact, I already have some to use as blank slates in the store; it's the embellishments that are going to be the more time consuming, but I'm more than certain I can have it all done in time. I just need your measurements, Luke-sempai" Miyako replied with a confident wave of her hand and a smile upon her face.

Luke patiently cooperated with her as she measured him, mildly blushing as she measure his inseam, and when she finished up, she turned to ask of him, "Would you prefer dress shoes or boots?"

"I think boots would be more in keeping with the theme" I noted to them and they both began nodding their heads in agreement.

"Which reminds me, we still need to see nani Kaarii and Josh are planning out for the wedding cake" Luke then added to us.

"Then you two had better get going" Miyako instructed us.

"But nani about taking care of Obaachan?" I asked of her as I knew she needed to be getting back to her shop.

"We're closed until after the party so that I can concentrate on making sure all of the clothes are ready for the event" Miyako told us while shooing us out the door.

Luke and I then rode to Kaarii's store to find the place locked, but the lights on in the back, so Luke knocked on the door. Little Sherbet flew up to the door and smiled as she unlocked it so as to permit us entrance before relocking the door and was soon leading us to the back where Josh and Kaarii were hard at work.

"Good heavens, does it have to be so big?" I exclaimed as I saw the giant sheet cake they were making by putting many smaller ones together.

"Oh, hey you two; I didn't expect to see you until later tonight" Kaarii noted to us in surprise.

"This is just the base; Kaarii's baking the rest of it as we speak" Josh replied as he brought over four more sheet cakes, set two of them down, spread a ganache filling atop them, and then placed the other two on top.

"You mean to tell us that it's going to be even bigger than this?" Luke asked in surprise.

"Hai, the mayor and Bellum-san placed the order for you; don't worry, I made sure to show them something nice and tasteful" Kaarii then informed us with a grin while waving us over towards her laptop computer which displayed the chosen design.

Atop the large sheet cake would sit seven round tiered cakes, six small five tiered cakes and one larger seven tiered cake. The large one would sit in the center while the other six would surround it, all decorated with a white icing and would be decorated with cherry blossoms, red roses, and black branches of icing, with the exception of the top two tiers of the center cake. Of this one, each of our friends, made of modeling chocolate, was to stand in their Powerpuffs Z uniforms, while Luke and I would stand on top, but in our wedding clothes, only our figurines were being designed by Himeko's toy company and being made of porcelain. The base cake was to be covered with a green tea powder.

"All should be done by the evening before your big day" Kaarii informed us.

"Why do I suddenly have pre-wedding day jitters when it isn't until this weekend?" I asked while setting a hand upon my stomach.

Clemintina soon flew up with a cup of ginger ale and a ginger snap for me which I gratefully thanked her for.

"So have you two decided who is playing nani role in the ceremony?" Josh then asked of us and I bowed my head ashamedly.

"Iie, not yet; our biggest problem is coming up with a flower girl and a ring bearer as we don't know anyone young enough for such a task" I replied honestly.

"Oh, I know, I know! How about I act as your flower girl and Clemintina can act as ring bearer?" suggested Sherbet excitedly.

"I don't know, that would mean you'd have to make yourselves publicly known when you're supposed to keep yourselves hidden from public view" noted Luke to them.

"Not to mention that you are both girls and the ring bearer is supposed to be a boy" I added informatively.

"That's fine, I can make myself to appear as a boy for a short period of time and we can also make ourselves the size of normal human children" Clemintina added dismissively as though she did that kind of thing all the time.

"See, now all you need to figure out is who your Maid of Honor and Best Man are going to be; I'd ask, but after the ceremony, Josh and I are supposed to be in charge of serving the cake once you two finish with the first piece" Kaarii then commented.

Luke and I rode home in silence, but upon arrival and once we had removed our helmets, we turned to look at each other before talking over who it would make the most sense to ask to be Maid of Honor and Best Man.

"Ami and Pazu have to leave a bit early so as to get some sleep in preparation for school the next day" Luke noted to me.

"I was thinking Kuriko and Ken, as they are both related to us, but they're almost too young for such a position" I added uncertainly.

"Kaoru and Rikiya will have to get back to the aquarium early the following morning, too, which leaves Isamu and Kanta, but she teaches school in the morning" Luke then shared and we both looked up at each other.

"Ken and Kuriko don't have such responsibilities as of yet, so we'll have to go with them" I replied as it all boiled down to them.

"Right, especially since Miyako and Takaaki will need to get back to their store to prepare for her first fashion show and to work on Kaoru's dress" Luke commented and we finally agreed.

Kuriko and Ken were both thrilled when we asked them, though there were some unhappy faces from some of our other friends until we explained ourselves and they fast to understand our reasoning.

"Stop me if I'm wrong here, but isn't the ring bearer supposed to be a boy and aren't Sherbet and Clemintina supposed to keep themselves hidden from public view?" inquired Isamu; she was holding an ice pack on her upper right arm after receiving a blow from a student's kendo sword.

"Hai, but according to Clemintina, she and Sherbet can change their size to appear as normal children and therefore will be permitted to show themselves to the public temporarily. Also, Clemintina has volunteered to alter her appearance further by making herself look like a boy, though also temporarily" Luke informed them and all nodded their heads in understanding.

Soon, the mayor and Bellum-san arrived as we were to further discuss the arrangements with them, "Look, I understand nani this means to the citizens and all, but I just don't find sake or any other alcoholic beverages necessary to make the event joyful" Luke protested.

"Really, that's one kind of 'fun' we can very well do without" I said in agreement with Luke.

"But nani about the tradition of the husband and wife drinking from a glass of wine together and the toasting to the couple, etc.?" inquired Bellum-san in concern.

"You can easily fake it with grape juice. And in the event of people wanting champagne, we can also serve sparkling grape juice or any other fruit juices, not to mention that they'll make for a great accompaniment with the cake" offered Kaarii helpfully which both Luke and I thought was a great idea.

"I don't know; it isn't exactly traditional" noted the Mayor while thinking over the subject.

"You can also use it as a sub-promotion that one doesn't need alcohol to make a grand event enjoyable" offered Miyako helpfully.

"You're not suggesting a prohibition of some kind, are you?" inquired Bellum-san in concern.

"Iie, just that alcohol isn't a necessity, but an option. I mean, think about, every time you hold some kind of gala event where children are going to be found in attendance as well as adults, you must always find a non-alcoholic substitution for them. By using both regular and sparkling fruit juices, they can feel just as much a real part of the event as do the adults. Not only that, but iie one can get drunk by overdrinking and thus turn an otherwise enjoyable event sour rather quickly" Luke said in reason.

"I have to agree with Luke on that one, especially that last part" noted Josh as though recalling a bad memory; even Kaoru gave a shudder before starting to rub one cheek which sparked Luke's concern.

"Something you two wish to add to the discussion?" I asked in equal concern.

"I was just remembering a family reunion I once attended. I sat off in a corner alone so as to stay out of the way when one of my ojisan-tachi came over reeking of alcohol and slurring quite heavily as he tried to talk to me. I just smiled up at him when he stood me up on the chair I had been sitting and reached up under my skirt to remove my underpants. I screamed out for help, but he slapped me across the face to silence me. Fortunately my father came over and flipped him off his feet and onto a hard table so hard that it collapsed. From that moment on, I gave up wearing skirts and dresses…until I met Rikiya and found a reason to wear them again" Kaoru shared with us before snuggling up against Rikiya for a bit more comfort.

"Un, well in my case, it was quite a different turn of events. I was on an archeological expedition with my father and they had just uncovered a lost tomb of some famous king, I don't remember which one though, when they were celebrating. There was this one guy who just wouldn't leave the wine along and was completely drunk when it was time for them to get back to work. He had been instructed to place the dynamite to blast the door blocking the entrance to the tomb ajar, but he used entirely too much blasting powder and instead virtually buried all of us alive. If I had been any bigger, we'd have all died, but fortunately I was small enough to wiggle my way through a small opening in the rubble and was thus able to run and get help" Josh informed us with a light, albeit forced, smile.

"I do believe I can see your points. Then we shall all agree that alcohol is to be strictly prohibited at the reception" the Mayor said in finality.

"Great, I hate the taste anyways" I added with a smile which soon had everyone laughing.

We all soon went our separate ways, though Luke and I could only share a hug from that moment on until the big day as we were now forbidden to see each other as per tradition.

The next day, my friends threw me a bridal shower while the guys threw a bachelor party for Luke, though everyone made sure to keep everything clean. But that night, I could barely sleep a wink as I was both excited and nervous about my big day that was to take place in the morning.

The next morning, the girls and I all met up at the lab to change into our dresses with Mom and Miyako helping me to slip into my gown.

Luke's POV

It was hard enough not being able to see Momoko over the last 32 hours, but now, as I was slipping into my tux along with the rest of my teammates, the anticipation of seeing her coming down the aisle was killing me. I turned when I heard the door open to see Ken walk in with Clemintina on his shoulder though she was covering her eyes.

"Going to be hard to have a girl ring-bearer, Luke-sempai" Takaaki noted to me.

"As I understand it, she can make herself look like a boy but only temporarily" I told him and he nodded his head in understanding.

"I can't believe we have to get done up so early when this won't take place for another three hours" griped Kanta while fumbling with his bowtie.

"So how does it feel being the first one to take the plunge, Luke?" asked Ken as he began adjusting Kanta's tie for him.

"To be honest, I'm both excited and nervous" I answered while slipping into my boots; as with the girls, we were all in our Powerpuff Z forms, but would still be going by our street names for the sake of the wedding.

Meanwhile, the Mayor and Bellum-san were welcoming the guests for us while Matsubara Dai was busy taking pictures of the event.

"So where is Sherbet, Clemintina-chan?" I asked once I had finished getting dressed and as I set my buster sword upon my belt.

"Since she's playing the part of Flower Girl, she's with Kuriko. It feels a little strange being with someone other than our normal partners, but we're adapting" Clemintina informed me and I nodded my head in understanding.

Josh and Kaarii had gone on ahead to the convention center, where the reception was being held, to get the cake set up and ready for serving while the caterers where also delivering the meal.

Kaarii's POV

Josh and I were in our van, driving the cake to the convention center, though I could help but feel a little nervous about leaving Clemintina in Ken's care while Josh was feeling equally nervous for leaving Sherbet in Kuriko's care. Upon arrival, we jumped out and Josh ran over to the back of van to open the double doors while I went to open the doors to the convention center and to see if we could get some help carrying the massive cake. It wasn't so much that it was heavy, just awkward due its size.

Two guys came out and jogged up to help us when one of them noted, "Man, this thing is enormous!"

"Hai, well we had to make it big since so many are going to be in attendance. Oh, and once we get this thing into place, I'm going to need a step ladder so as to set the bride and groom dolls on top" I informed them as we walked inside carrying the cake and soon came upon the large table that had been set up just to the left of the main table.

Once we had everything in place and while someone was getting a step ladder for me, I ran back out to the van where I pulled out a brief case in which held a gold cake knife and server as well as the porcelain dolls which were to sit on top of the cake and ran back inside.

Passing the case over to Josh, I opened and extracted the two dolls and began to mount the ladder while he cautioned me, "Be careful, Kaarii-chan."

I paused long enough to nod my head in agreement and soon carefully leaned over to mount the two dolls into place before descending the ladder to step back and admire our hard work. It amazed me how accurate the dolls were to the people they represented and Miyako had even gone to the extent of making a small dress for the bride and tux for the groom that matched the real ones.

"Well, they sure have pulled out all the stops on this party" Josh replied to me as we looked around the room including the seven tables chock full of food for the meal that was to be served.

"There's even going to be a red carpet which will be unrolled so that the procession can walk up to their table" one of the two guys who had helped us with the cake informed us.

"I certainly hope we're not expected to have something this grand when our turn comes" I noted to Josh who nodded his head in agreement.

"True, but remember, Luke and Momoko are being given such a grand wedding because they're the team leaders, otherwise, this would more than likely be a lot more modest" Josh reminded me and I nodded my head in understanding.

"Un, well if you two expect to get to the wedding, then you had best get a move on" recommended the woman in charge of the caterers.

"Are you sure you guys don't mind keeping an eye on the cake?" I asked of her in concern.

"I'm sure, now shoo" she replied with a heartfelt smile before waving us on.

Josh and I ran back outside and jumped into the back of our van and began changing our clothes since we had stored my dress and his suit inside. As soon as we were in our dress clothes, we moved into the cab and Josh started the van while I took my seat beside him and we then drove off towards City Hall.

We arrived just in time to take our seats as we were acting as caretakers for the Flower Girl and Ring-bearer.

Luke's POV

The last picture had been taken until the procession was to begin walking down the aisle when I turned to Clemintina and told her, "It's time, are you sure you're up to it?"

"Hai! Prettyennu! Make Up!" she replied as she held up her wand and changed her appearance so as to resemble a young boy, but still remained quite small.

She then waved her wand one more time and changed size so that she was now the size of a five year old. Ken then placed a small red velvet cushion with gold trim into 'his' hands and I placed the rings on top after making a small indentation so that they couldn't roll off.

"So who's going to act as 'his' parents once the whole thing begins to take place?" Ken then inquired of me.

"Josh and Kaarii are supposed to be handling that after they drop the cake off at the convention center" I told him before being signaled by the Mayor that it was time for me to take my place at the before the podium.

While walking down the aisle, I gave pause to notice Sakamoto sitting in the audience and sending me a sour look and I thought to myself, 'That could be trouble.'

I whispered this to the preacher and he nodded his head in understanding before telling me, "Have faith, my son."

Stepping back, I bowed to him and took my place to watch the curtain that had been set up at one end of the street. It amazed me how much the Mayor had gone to just to ensure that the citizens could also attend, though I now wished we had been allowed to keep it to invited guests only as I had iie wish for Sakamoto to be here. I then noticed Kaarii sitting in the front row and waving to me politely and I smiled to her and politely waved back.

Soon the music began and walking down together first were 'Clem' and 'Sheri'. Sheri was tossing down cherry and peach blossom petals while Clem walked beside her with the pillow that bore the wedding rings on top in 'his' hands. Many people were quietly commenting on how cute the young couple looked as they paused to have their photos taken and soon they reached the end to wait for the rest of the procession to follow.

Next to come down were Kuriko and Ken; the latter of whom took his place to stand beside me after collecting the rings from Clem and slipping them into his pocket. Next to come down the aisle was Ami and Pazu, followed by Isamu and Kanta, and then Kaoru and Rikiya, with Miyako and Takaaki coming down last, all pausing to have their photos taken before continuing down the aisle to take their places in the lineup.

The music suddenly changed as everyone rose to show their utmost respect as the bride, being accompanied by her father, walk down the aisle, pausing to have their photo taken before coming down to stand before me. Both she and her father bowed to me and I bowed to them before taking Momoko's hand into mine and we smiled at each other warmly.

The preacher raised his hands and the music ceased. He then indicated for everyone to take their seats and, once everyone was sitting, began the ceremony.

"If there should be anybody who wishes to object to this man and woman being united in holy matrimony, with the exception of guest 215, let them speak now or forever hold their peace" the preacher said and we all had to gouge ourselves in the shins with the heels of our shoes to keep from laughing as Sakamoto just glowered at the preacher; fortunately, though, iie one else made any objections to the ceremony continued.

While the preacher was rambling on and on, I couldn't help but think, 'Would you just get to the good parts?'

The rings were requested and we each took one into our hands before speaking our vows to one another and the preacher then said, "Nani we have united today in the presence of God, let iie man put asunder from this day forward. You may now kiss the bride."

Momoko and I wrapped our arms around each other and kissed, holding it for at least a minute before we turned to dash up the aisle and to the limo waiting for us so as to drive us over to the reception.

Once everyone, minus Sakamoto as he had left in a fit of anger from being denied his right to place an objection to our being married, had moved on to the convention center for the reception, each of the party was introduced to those in attendance with Clem and Sheri first and introduced as younger itoko-tachi to Josh and Kaarii. Once they had joined up with their 'elder itoko-tachi', they were excused to head off to take their naps, though in reality they just reverted back to their normal size and Clem returned to being a girl.

When our turn finally came around we were introduced as Luke 'Blade' and Momoko 'Blossom' Utonium.

Once we had all taken our places at the table, with me and Momoko sitting in the middle. When it came time to cut the cake, we shared the first piece, taking a bite each before linking our arms to feed the last bite to one another. Many were trying to urge us into placing the slice of cake into each other's face, but we simply told them, "Gomen nasai, but one doesn't issue a food-fight with cake this good."

When it came time for dancing together, Momoko was permitted to share the first dance with her father alone. For the second dance, they shared the first half before I requested to cut in and Hachizou passed her hand over to me before bowing out to allow the two of us to finish the dance together. The third dance we shared together before everyone else was allowed to join in, though for the fourth dance, we let Sherbet and Clemintina sit in each pocket of my blazer so as to feel like I was dancing with them while still dancing with Momoko.

When the seven o'clock bell chimed, we climbed back into the limo we were being permitted to use, and rode back to our apartment with everyone else seeing us off. Just before the limo left the convention center, Luke opened the sunroof for me and I stood up to toss my bouquet out to our friends and, much to both mine and her delights, Kaoru caught it. Upon our arrival home, we went to our room where we undressed before climbing into bed together and truly enjoyed each other's company though still refraining from having sex just yet as we wanted to move into our new home for that first time. Besides, Ami came home a couple of hours later and went to her room to turn in for the night.

"So when is Kiyoko moving into her new apartment at the retirement center?" Momoko asked of me while we were cuddled up together in our rather small bed.

"Next weekend, and both Ami and Pazu are buying the apartment from us" I informed her.

"Good, I can't wait" she told me with a yawn and we snuggled up tighter as we drifted off to sleep.

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><p><strong>Carly: Well, that's one down and five more to go.<strong>

**TCW: Hai, quite.**

**Carly: So nani is in store for the next chapter?**

**Next time…**

**Momoko: We're moving into our new home!**

**Luke: Though someone isn't quite as happy about it as she would like for us to believe.**

**TCW: All this and so much more coming soon.**

**Carly and Momoko: Meanwhile, onegai, be sure to leave us some nice reviews!**


	53. New Old House

**Arigato for the many great reviews, my friends. For this chapter, things will be getting rather suggestive, but I've kept it clean enough to maintain the appropriate content for the story's rating. Now, let's join Luke and Momoko as they move into their…**

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><p><strong>New Old House<strong>

Luke and I started our honeymoon the following morning after our wedding, heading back for Hotel Pearl Piari where we would enjoy the beach, their new onsen, and, to a degree, each other. Still, though, we remained celibate until we would be able to move into our new home which required us to cut our honeymoon short so as to return home.

Ami and Pazu would be renting the apartment as they were now beginning their internship and could now afford it. So Luke and I bought a larger bed for us to share in our new home as well as buying some supplies for the new massage center, though for some reason, it seemed to me like he had bought a little more than we would actually need.

That weekend, we helped Miyako and Takaaki in moving Kiyoko into her new apartment at the retirement center, though Miyako didn't seem quite as happy about it as she was leading us all to believe. Every time we turned around we'd briefly catch her frowning before forcing a smile onto her face once she saw us staring at her.

"Daijobu, little girl, tell me: nani is the matter?" I heard Luke ask of her but she was evasive of the question.

"Miyako-chan…look at me and then answer Luke's question" Kiyoko told her firmly, but she couldn't meet her obaasan's eyes iie matter how hard she tried and just dashed out of the room. "Gomen nasai, Takaaki-chan, but fetch my switch, onegai."

"Iie, that won't be necessary, Obaachan; I think I know nani is bothering our Miyako-chan" Luke reply and I released my held breath.

Luke then signaled to me to tag along and we both walked outside where we found Miyako kneeling by the koi pond and crying.

"It's called separation-anxiety, Miyako-chan" Luke informed her as we both sat down on either side of her.

"I know you two are going to take good care of the place and love it every bit as much as Obaachan and I have, but still…" Miyako started to reply before she broke down sobbing into her hands until I wrapped my arms around her and she turned to cry into my shoulder.

"You're still not happy with strangers moving into your childhood home. I know how you feel to be honest" Luke continued for her in a sympathetic tone.

"You do?" Miyako then asked of him.

"I'd only known but one home outside of the apartment I bought when I came to Nihon and when my family was put to death, I then had to take on the responsibility of seeing that new owners were found for my old home. But since I had to return here, I gave that responsibility over to a good friend who not only sold the house for me, but also sold all of the furniture and donated all of the clothing and even my father's lab equipment to good causes. When she sent me an email telling me that she'd sold the house and was mailing me the check, I found that it hurt in a way that I never expected" Luke shared with her and we both looked up at him in surprise.

"Are they taking care of your home the way you did?" Miyako then requested of him.

"They are, and maybe even a little more so. They've added onto the place, they've put in both a flower and vegetable garden, and have even given the place a facelift" Luke told her and she soon began to brighten a bit more.

"Do you think you'd be making any such changes to my old home?" Miyako asked of us.

"I think there may be a few small changes here and there, but overall, outside of general maintenance, we'll probably leave the house itself well enough alone. Though I think a flower and vegetable garden would be a nice addition" I replied for him and even Luke nodded his head in agreement.

"I can try to adjust" Miyako finally confessed after giving it some thought.

"Well, I didn't say it won't still hurt to leave, but, at least you can come back and visit; that's something I will probably never do" Luke told her as even he hugged her close.

"And not only that, but maybe even after a while, this house will even be able to watch more than just one child's life grow and develop" I added with a smile to both of them and Miyako began giggling.

"That will be something for this old house to look forward to" Miyako replied with a bright smile and we all rose up, dusted ourselves off, and returned inside to continue helping Kiyoko to pack up.

We finished by the middle of the afternoon and that evening, we had finished moving Kiyoko into her new apartment at the retirement center. Luke and I decided that we would move in the next day and so returned to the old house to settle into my small futon up in my room.

The next morning, Luke and I began setting up our new bed in the master bedroom and then began rearranging some of the items in the house, though I insisted on us leaving the daidokoro alone for the time being. We had this finished by lunchtime and so stopped to enjoy a couple of cups of ramen before Luke took hold of my hand and led me outside to the newly refurbished outbuilding.

Luke set a blindfold over my eyes, took hold of my hand and walked me inside before closing the door behind us and then said, "Okay, now, remove your blindfold."

I removed my blindfold and look at the room before me and gasped in astonishment. Nani had been an old utility shed and a wood shed, were now combined into one room. Off to the right side of the room, sat an in-ground o-furo big enough for two while the left side had a massage couch standing in the middle of it. There was even a futon on the floor in the back. The onsen side had cream tiles on the floor and red tiles lining much of the walls, though there was a chair-rail line of pink tiles to add a bit of décor to the place. The massage center side was painted red and bore a plush, cream colored carpet with a memory foam underlayment. The furniture, nani little there was, was all done up in a dark oak.

"So…nani do you think?" Luke asked of me while whispering into my ear.

"I think I'm going to be spending a lot of time naked in here" I replied and we both broke out laughing together.

"*Ahem* Well, hai, but before that, we need to finish setting up" he them told me as he indicated the few boxes that were sitting on the floor.

While he unpacked the massage oils and set them into a small hanging cabinet, I unpacked a box full of scented candles. Luke then turned and began hanging a couple of sconces on the wall while I unpacked the linens.

"Where should we store these?" I asked of him in curiosity.

"Over here" Luke said as he indicated an upright cabinet that, when I opened the door, gave off a lot of hot, scented air. "I've got it turned on right now to see how well it works, but otherwise this will be turned off until we're in here to use everything. There's another smaller cabinet in the o-furo for the bath towels and facecloths."

"Nothing says comfort like fresh, warm linens" I said with a grin and soon took up a few towels and carried them into the o-furo to put them away.

"You know nani would be really nice; an enclosed walkway going from the house to the door so that we can take our leisure returning to the house during the winter months" I shared with him.

"That's not a bad idea, though it would divide the property" Luke said in thought.

"Then scratch that idea, I don't want to disrupt the flow of the property" I told him.

"Well, we've still a lot of time to think and talk it over" Luke told me as we shared a kiss.

"We're going to need some pillows for the bed" I told him as I took up some red satin sheets and began making the bed which was more of a mattress that sat on the floor with a heating pad underneath it so as to keep the bed warm.

"When you're done with that, we still need to finish getting our bedroom set up" Luke informed me and as I tucked the top sheet in properly, I rose up and jogged over to take a hold of his hand and, as he flipped the master switch which turned off not only the lights, but the linen heating cabinets, we then returned inside.

"I was kind of hoping to share our first time in there" I told Luke though still smiling up at him.

"I thought it best to commemorate our marriage bed properly with that" Luke told me with a smile and I nodded my head in agreement.

Upon our return inside, we headed for the furoba where we undressed and proceeded to clean up not only ourselves, but each other before heading to our bed.

"Sheets are a little cold; maybe we should consider one of those cabinets for use inside the house" I replied after we had climbed into bed together to begin making out.

"I'll be sure to add it to the list of things we still need to purchase for the house, but meanwhile, I know of a great way to warm up the bed" Luke replied with a smile and we soon began making love to one another.

"Good news is that was the best moment in my life second to the day we were married" I commented to him with a yawn as we caught our breath after four rounds.

"So nani is the bad news?" Luke asked as he ran a hand over my bare stomach to wipe away the perspiration.

"It's going to be Hell trying to get the blood stain out of the sheets" I replied with a giggle before Luke pulled me up against him and thus began our fifth round.

"If it's that big of a hassle, we can always buy a new set" Luke offered me as I lay upon his chest, listening to his heart beat while we caught our breath once again.

"Maybe, but meantime, don't we have to go to work in the morning?" I asked of him.

"I suppose we do…unless we call in sick or something" Luke offered with a chuckle.

"We have four appointments tomorrow morning, but nothing in the afternoon" I told him while jerking my heads towards the back of the house.

"I read you loud and clear. Oyasumi, Momoko-chan" Luke bid me as I slid off of him to snuggled up against him as we both drifted off to sleep.

We woke up the next morning and took a shower together so as to freshen up before getting dressed and heading out to work with a couple of pieces of toast in our hands for breakfast. We then rode over to the massage center on Luke's motorcycle. Upon arrival, I went to get the office started up while Luke went to prepare everything else to get ready for a busy morning. Kuriko was our first appointment of the day.

"Ohayo, Kuriko-chan; where would you like your massage to be today?" I asked of her as soon as she arrived and we shared a hug.

"I don't know, ask Ken" she replied while indicating the fact that Ken was with her today.

"Ken-kun, nani brings you to the massage center today?" I asked of him with a warm smile.

"I was hoping to see nani all is involved in giving Kuriko her therapeutic massages so that I might also be able to help her out" Ken explained simply.

"Well, the massage I do on her sacral area isn't something that I would encourage for the beginner to start off with, but I'd be happy to show you the basics" Luke said as he walked into the waiting room to admit Kuriko to the back.

"Are all the rooms available?" Kuriko requested of Luke and he nodded his head to her; I would clean the rooms between uses and so Luke would use one of the other rooms while I was cleaning.

While Luke was showing Ken the different oils that were used in the massages and explaining how the mixing and blending processes worked, Kuriko went into the beach room where she began getting undressed while I lit the scented candles and started the soft, soothing music. Kuriko was now wearing the provided robe until Luke and Ken entered the room and I left out of the room.

Luke had done his best to prepare Ken for everything, but the one part that Ken had the most trouble understanding was the fact that when Luke said that Kuriko was going to be undressed, he didn't comprehend just how undressed she would be. When Luke told her to remove her robe and to climb up onto the massage couch and to lie face down, Ken almost lost his mind when he saw she was completely naked.

"Nani is the meaning of this; you didn't tell me she was going to be naked!" Ken virtually shouted in anger and disbelief.

"And how else is he supposed to have contact with my skin so that he can learn how my muscles are reacting to the massage? Now keep quiet and pay attention or leave; I'm trying to relax" Kuriko rebuked him firmly while maintaining control of her own temper.

Ken fell silent and soon relaxed further when Luke draped a warm towel over Kuriko's lower body. He then dipped his hand into a small bowl of scented massage oil that was set up on the massage couch and began to rub the massage oil into his hands so as to warm the oil before setting a hand upon her back and after waiting for a minute, began to massage her neck, shoulder, and back before flipping the towel up so that now her back was covered but her legs were exposed. Working down her right leg, he then came back up before continuing on down her left leg. Each time Luke began to massage Kuriko's backside, Ken almost came unglued but remained silent as neither of them showed any kind of emotion other than that of being relaxed.

Luke then had Kuriko turn over onto her back while he held up a towel so as to provide her with a sense of modesty before returning to the massage, against first working on her neck and shoulders before working on her upper chest while being careful not to get too personal. Working down her arms and returning back up, Luke then continued down her sides until he came to her legs and then massaged the fronts of her legs.

"How are you feeling, Kuriko-chan?" he then asked of Kuriko.

"Better, but I'm still getting a twinge of pain around my sacrum" Kuriko informed him and he had her turn back over onto her stomach before getting back to work on her sacrum, though paying a little closer attention to certain areas that were feeling a bit tight.

Luke then poked his head out the door and called to me, "Momoko-chan, would be so kind as to bring in a Thera-cane?"

I turned and went into the small room adjacent to my office and extracted a small green, plastic cane-looking device that had a knob at each end and even had to handles that also had knobs at the ends of them. I then brought the device to the door and gently knocked before entering to find Kuriko getting her underclothes back on.

Taking the device from my hands, Luke then began to show her how to use it so as to work on her sacrum on her own before turning and saying to Ken, "It's not that you couldn't help her, too, but more the fact that these little massaging knobs can work a bit more intensively on the areas without concern of doing too much damage by unintentionally applying too much pressure."

"So how often should I use this?" inquired Kuriko curiously.

"About once a day should suffice and then only for about five minutes unless you begin feeling a bit more pain; if you're not feeling any kind of improvement, feel free to call me and I'll look into nani else we can try to help your sacral muscles" Luke instructed her and Kuriko nodded her head in understanding before continuing to get dressed.

"Would anything like a whirlpool or Jacuzzi be able to provide any kind of help to her?" Ken then asked with a bit of concern in his voice as he now understood the reasoning behind the massage.

"It couldn't hurt any" Luke replied honestly.

I heard a small bell ding and so I left the room to go meet our next appointment while Kuriko and Ken were just about to leave.

"Honestly, I just don't get nani daddy expects of me running the company; so far I've not only improved production is many areas, but I've also managed to initiate in some 'green' practices that is saving the company a lot of money in electricity alone" Himeko was complaining into her cell phone to her mother as I slid the screen back on the check-in window.

I waved to Kuriko and Ken as they quietly slipped out the door and Himeko was soon hanging up her cell phone as Luke was patiently waiting for her.

When her massage was complete, she sat up and commented, "You have the hands of a kami, Luke-sensei; it's iie wonder why Momoko married you."

"Domo arigato, Himeko-sama" Luke replied with a bow before escaping out of the room to permit her to dress in private.

When she exited out of the Relaxation room (so called because it was usually the first room we used with new clients as it was set up so as help them to relax easier), I asked of her, "Would you like another appointment for the same time next week?"

"Iie, I've got a big meeting next week, so I'll have to call you later on to schedule it" she informed me and I politely bowed to her as she left out the door.

The phone began ringing when our next guest arrived and so I dashed off to answer it only to find out that our last patient of the day was canceling due to unforeseen circumstances. Though disappointed by this turn of events, I was also somewhat excited since this meant that Luke and I could leave early.

"Looks like another short day then" Luke commented with a sigh as he saw our last guest to the door.

"Well as soon as I'm finished cleaning up the last room, we can go home and you can give me that _full_-bodied massage you promised me back during your finals at college" I noted to him with a smile and a light blush in my cheeks.

"You're incorrigible, but daijobu, you win" Luke told me as he kissed me on the cheek and I spun around to dash off to get the last room cleaned up while he went to his office to enter some information into his computer.

I finished cleaning and had thrown the linens into the dryer after getting them out of the washing machine. I then began to wash all of the bowls that were used to hold the massage oils during the treatments and for mixing for desired fragrances. Of course, this was the hard part as Luke had to take into consideration the patients' allergies which was why we kept so many different kinds of oils on hand. I had just finished up the last load of linens and stored them into their cabinets when Luke was locking up the oils in a fire-proof case.

"Are you all done?" Luke asked of me with a grin.

"Hai; did you shut down the computers?" I asked of him in return while greatly anticipating my own massage.

"I sure did and I've got my keys, so let's go" Luke said as he took my hand and we dashed out the door, though pausing long enough for him to set the alarm and locked up.

My heart was pounding with excitement as we were zipping through traffic to get home. Parking in the small garage that was connected to the house, we dashed into the house while giggling when we were both caught by surprise as all of the lights came on and we heard our friends shout out, "Odoroki; omedeto on your new home!"

Kaarii and Josh even came out of the daidokoro with a cake in hand that said 'Omedeto on your new home' on top; their Sweets Spirits standing on their shoulders.

Luke and I just looked at them in complete shock when Miyako stepped out from behind the door and confessed to being the one who decided to throw us a surprise house-warming party as she said, "I do hope you both enjoy your new, old home; because if you don't, I want it back."

"Iie worries there, Miyako-chan; Luke and I were just heading for our personal onsen but we can postpone it for your delightful party" I told her while sharing a hug with her.

"Your own personal onsen; I want to see, I want to see!" the girls all began squabbling as they ran for the door to the backyard while leaving me and Luke standing there with the cake now in our hands while the other guys were just looking as though they knew nani was going to be expected of them when their time came.

After we set the cake down upon the table, Luke handed out business cards for the contractor responsible for building our onsen while I went outside to escort the girls back inside. Fortunately, I didn't have to go far as they were all returning with disappointed looks on their faces as the door was locked.

"Hey, we're supposed to be throwing Luke and Momoko a house-warming party anyways" Kaarii noted to the others as she reminded of the reason why they were there.

"Good point, Kaarii-chan; let's get to partying" Kaoru replied as she jogged back up the steps to enter the house.

"Remind me after cake and ice cream and I'll show you around" Luke reassured the girls and they all brightened considerably.

We were all sitting around the living room enjoying a cup of tea when I asked of Kaoru, "So when are you and Rikiya-kun taking the 'big step'?"

"Two weeks; we're waiting until after Miyako's fashion show so that she can be a member of the wedding party" Kaoru answered as she was sitting on Rikiya's knee.

"That reminds me, I noticed some new construction work going on at the aquarium; can you share with us nani it is you two are having done, or is it a surprise?" inquired Ami from Pazu's lap.

"The add-on near the front of the aquarium is to be our new home so that we'll have more room for our family to grow; we'd like to have at least three children. As for the rest, we're expanding the aquarium to include a theme park as well as an underwater observation center" Rikiya answered with a smile.

"That's going to be quite an expensive endeavor; are you up to it?" Luke asked with a bit of concern.

"We may have to raise prices a bit, but we've got a rather large investor helping us to fund much of it and we're not cutting any corners on expense either; if it isn't felt to be unequivocally safe, then it isn't safe" Rikiya added further and we all nodded our heads in agreement.

"Not to mention that tourist season will soon be upon us, so we expect to have some added funds from that, too" Kaoru mentioned and we all nodded our heads in understanding.

"Well, I promised you all a tour of the onsen, so let's go" Luke then mentioned as we had finished our tea and we all left for a tour of the place.

"So have you two used it yet?" asked Miyako after taking a look around.

"We were going to use it when we got home from work, but this party seemed like it'd be a bit more fun; besides, we can use it tonight" I told her honestly.

"Have you two done 'it' yet?" inquired Isamu with a grin.

"Last night, though we're going to need a whole new set of sheets to replace the one we used" I replied with a giggle.

"Just soak them in cold water for a few hours before you wash them and then wash them in cold water; if they're white, then use a light amount of bleach" Kaarii informed me.

"And that'll get the blood out of the sheets?" I asked of her in surprise.

"Uh-huh" she replied and I made a mental note to do this as soon as we returned inside.

"Blood; Luke did you hurt Momoko?" asked Isamu in concern.

"Iie, he didn't; I'll explain it all to you before we leave" Ami answered on Luke's behalf.

"Or I could show you a few weeks early" offered Kanta with a semi-wicked grin.

"Iie deflowering my imoto until you properly marry her" Luke said with a growl that made Kanta swallow hard.

"Deflowering…OH, so that's nani you were referring to by blood…okay, now it all makes sense" Isamu exclaimed as her cheeks turned bright red.

"Well, we had better leave so the happy newlyweds can enjoy their new onsen and their new old house" suggested Ken as he took Kuriko's hand and began to lead her out the door.

"We'll use you to the door before we use the onsen" I replied with a bright smile as Luke and I began to follow them.

Miyako suddenly turned around, pulled a key from her pocket, and said, "Iie, you two stay here and enjoy yourselves and each other; I'll clean and lock up. I'll even make sure to *sniff* leave my key on the table before I *sniff* leave."

I tightly embraced her as she was crying once again despite the smile on her face before asking, "Are you sure, Miyako-chan; you can keep the key if you like."

"Iie, it's not my house anymore; I've made my decision and I'm going to stick with it" Miyako replied as she kissed me on the cheek before turning and dashing out the door, being sure to close it behind her as she chased the others away to allow us our privacy.

"She's a really special person" I whispered to Luke while wiping a couple of tears from my eyes.

"Hai, she is…but I left my house key inside, so if you'll excuse me" Luke said as he dashed out the door only to receive a questioning look from Miyako.

Quickly explaining himself, Miyako handed him her spare key to slip onto the key ring that held his key to the onsen with a smile before he kissed her on the forehead before returning to attend me while making sure to lock the door to the onsen behind him.

Luke turned to me and completely undressed me before setting me upon the massage couch to give me a full-bodied massage to relax me before helping me to move to the bed where he gave me a personal massage which ended with us uniting once again. At my insistence, we went a few more rounds before taking a bath together and then went a few rounds more before falling asleep in each other's arms. I felt truly at peace now that I was married to and sleeping with the man of my dreams and while living in our new old house.

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><p><strong>Carly: Suggestive but clean, and with such a happy ending, too.<strong>

**TCW: Well, I did my best to keep it clean so as to maintain the 'T' rating.**

**Carly: I'm glad you did, but more importantly, nani is in store for the next fun chapter?**

**Next time…**

**Rikiya: I'm happy, excited, and so nervous that I think I'm going to be sick.**

**Luke: Just wait until you see your bride coming down the aisle and then you'll feel differently, believe me.**

**Kaoru: That's right; Rikiya and I are getting married in the next chapter!**

**TCW: All this and still a whole lot more still to come.**

**Momoko and Carly: Just be sure to leave us some really nice reviews, onegai! And don't forget, we also welcome anonymous reviews from those without accounts.**

**Author's Note: On the Thera-cane mentioned in this chapter, if you should wish to see a picture of one so as to understand their appearance better, visit Amazon (dot) com and type 'Thera-cane' in the search bar. Arigato (Thank you) – The Cat Whispurrer**


	54. Aquarium Wedding

**Domo arigato for the great reviews, my friends. For this chapter, we will be joining our friends as Kaoru and Rikiya are getting ready for their…**

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><p><strong>Aquarium Wedding<strong>

As if it wasn't enough to be responsible for making Kaoru's wedding dress and Rikiya's tuxedo for their upcoming wedding, Miyako was also hard at work preparing some of her latest designs for a fashion show. To make matters worse, Shiri No Janko-san was also holding a show at the same time in another room at the same convention center.

Of course, Shiri-san tried to get the Powerpuff Girls to help her, but we politely declined saying that we had already signed on with Gotokuji-san. She was not pleased, but she also understood.

"So how is married life treating you, Oneechan?" Kuriko asked of me while we were gathering together at the convention center.

"It's better than I ever thought it would be" I replied honestly.

"I bet, with an onsen like that and a massage therapist like Luke, you've got to be experiencing heaven on earth" noted Isamu with a grin; she's been in for a few sessions since we opened.

"You have iie idea" I replied while blushing brightly, though the girls quickly caught on to my hidden meaning and so began giggling at me.

However, of all of us, Miyako was the only one not paying any attention as she was nervously chewing on her thumb nail while looking at the growing crowd that was gathering together to see nani her designs had to offer; there was even a media crew gathering.

"Would you relax, Miyako-chan; you're going to ruin your manicure" Kaarii told her with a confident tone while rubbing her back reassuringly.

"I'm trying, but I didn't expect such a large crowd or even a media crew to show up" Miyako replied nervously.

"Well with these three dimensional designs, you're sure to give Shiri No Janko-san a run for her money" I added with a smile as I set a comforting hand upon her shoulder.

"I do hope you're right. *sigh* You had all best get ready, we'll be starting in a few minutes" Miyako then instructed us and we all nodded our heads in recognition.

"Are you ladies ready?" inquired Takaaki as he came back behind the curtain to check up on all of us.

"As ready as we can be" Miyako replied honestly as they shared a brief kiss.

Outside, an announcer was already introducing the guests to the event while also introducing the security lineup featuring the Powerpuff Boys Z while explaining that the Powerpuff Girls Z were the volunteer models for the showing.

I was the first one to step out from behind the curtain while wearing a reddish-pink dress that had some rather large orange flowers on it with a 3-D effect that made them appear to have been attached even though they were really part of the fabric's pattern. I stepped to the end of the catwalk and posed a few times while also noticing that Shiri-san was also hiding up by the entrance to the show hall with one hand clasped over her mouth. I then turned and began to return behind the curtain while Kaoru was stepping out wearing a green dress with yellow starfish with a similar effect.

"Miyako-chan, Shiri-san is hiding out by the doorway to the show hall and has a look of astonishment on her face and tears in her eyes" I told her excitedly.

Word must have spread around because soon many others were entering the show hall to gather around to see Miyako's latest designs. By the time the show had drawn to a close, Miyako had many admirers surrounding her and asking her to sign contracts to allow different retailers to carry her products. Of course, she blew them all away when she politely declined as she would only let her designs to be sold in her own store so as to ensure that iie one would try and copy and thus steal her designs. Heart-broken by her cutting remarks, they all dejectedly turned away and left while many others came rushing up to put in requests for dresses, including Himeko who requested one dress of each style and pattern.

"Arigato for all of your high praises and I will do my best to fill your orders, however, I must first finish up a wedding dress and tuxedo for a couple of friends who are due to be married next weekend" Miyako then informed all of her adoring fans.

However, the show hall fell completely silent when Shiri-san was heard to shout out, "I'd like a word with you, Gotokuji-san!"

All parted as the woman began to walk forward and all braced as she stopped to stand before Miyako with a heated look in her eyes; even Miyako was bracing as though expecting to be slapped while the Powerpuff Boys were making ready to charge in to stop her should she try.

Shiri-san didn't raise her hand, instead she dropped to her knees and bowed before Miyako as she tearfully said, "As of this moment, I am officially retiring. I cannot hope to compete with your designs. I only ask that you do me the honor of offering the last of my designs in your store so that I may at least go out with some honor."

"I would be honored to" Miyako replied with a polite bow.

Miyako indeed kept her word and, with Monday morning's shipment of materials for her own designs, received a few boxes of Shiri-san's last designs. All but one set was put up on display in the front of Miyako's store as she had kept the one set for herself.

Kaoru's POV

The day had drawn to a close and both Rikiya and I were walking to our apartments to finish packing up the last of our things as we were planning on moving into the finished condo that we had built as an attachment to the aquarium the next day.

"Did you post the notice that we would be closed next weekend for our wedding?" I asked of Rikiya while leaning my head upon his shoulder.

"Hai, I sure did, though many of our frequent visitors are requesting permission to attend the wedding" he informed me with a light chuckle.

"I don't see why not, I mean so many of them are just like friends and that's who we're inviting to the wedding. Even Kaarii said that the cake would be big enough to feed at least 100 people" I replied happily.

"We'll hold the reception in front of the whale shark tank while holding the actual wedding in the theater, that way we won't have any comments from you-know-who" Rikiya informed me.

"Are you trying to tell me that Akihiro would object to our being married?" I asked of him in disbelief.

"Iie, but he would either drench us and thus ruin our clothes or he would decide to shake his head as if he were objecting just for comedy's sake and then it'd be almost impossible for the guests and ourselves to keep a straight face while we're making our wedding vows" Rikiya told me honestly and even I couldn't help but laugh at this.

"You're right; Akihiro can be quite incorrigible sometimes" I replied as we began to walk up the steps to our apartments.

When we reached my apartment, Rikiya and I paused to kiss each other oyasumi and he was soon showing signs of wanting to enter my apartment with me.

"Not tonight, we have to finish packing up to move tomorrow" I reminded him and, with a sigh, he nodded his head.

"Oyasumi to amai yume, Kaoru-chan" he then bid me before turning and continuing on his way up the stairs to his own apartment while I slipped into mine.

I walked into the kitchen, the last room I had left to pack up when my phone began ringing, "Moshi-moshi, oh konbonwa, Dad. Hai, we're moving into the new condo in the morning. You can; that'd be great! Daijobu, I'll see you in the morning then; oyasumi to tanoshii yume, Dad, give Mom a hug for me."

I then hung up and called up Rikiya to tell him the good news, "Gomen nasai to bother you while you're packing, but I thought you'd like to know that Dad just bought a new minivan and is coming over tomorrow morning to help us move. Hai, I know; isn't it great? Daijobu, I'll see you in the morning then, sayonara."

I packed up the last of the kitchen utensils and took a look around the apartment. It seemed strange; here I had only known the place for a few years and yet I already felt as though I was going to miss it. I now had a mild understanding as to how Miyako felt about leaving her old home, only she spent her entire life there while I'd only been here for a few years. I then gave pause to remember why I had moved in but dismissed that bitter memory to look ahead to the future as I laid down upon my couch with a pillow and blanket, curled up, and went to sleep.

I was awakened the next morning when I felt someone shaking me awake. I looked up tiredly to see my father smiling down at me and so I smiled back before sitting up and stretching my arms and yawning. While enjoying a breakfast sandwich and soda that my father had purchased for us while on his way over, Rikiya soon joined us and also began eating.

"Well, shall we get to work?" I asked of the guys once I finished eating my breakfast and with a nod of their heads, we began to carry my things down to place them into the back of Dad's new van.

Luke soon arrived with a moving van which we then placed the furniture into the back of before driving a little ways down the street to the aquarium. Fortunately, we had a large cart upon which we usually placed packages with live marine animals, various types of food, and equipment upon and used this to carry much of the heavier items up to the condo.

"At least you won't have to travel far to go to work" Luke noted to us while gazing around the new condominium.

"Hai and it's big enough to house a family of five quite comfortably, too" I added as I unlocked the door.

Soon our friends arrived and began to help out, though Kaarii and Josh brought a cake and some sodas for a housewarming party just as my mother and kyodai-tachi arrived to also help out.

"So, Saturday is the wedding, right?" Momoko asked of Rikiya while we were sitting around their new spacious living room eating cake.

"Hai, though to be completely honest, I'm rather nervous" Rikiya replied with a half-smile.

"That makes two of us" I added with a sigh.

"Don't worry, when you two clamp eyes on each other after being apart for so long, you'll iie longer feel nervous, but a great sense of anticipation" Luke told them reassuringly.

We soon finished up the party and I left with my parents as per tradition as we weren't allowed to see each other again until I was being walked down the aisle to the altar. To be completely honest, it felt weird sleeping in my old bedroom once again as it iie longer felt like it was mine. Momoko and the girls threw me a wedding shower the next day while Luke and the guys threw a bachelor party for Rikiya, still our friends made sure to keep our parties clean.

Now I know that I normally wear green clothes, but for my wedding dress, I had chosen a white dress with a sea-green sash and had sea-green waves embroidered around the hem, cuffs, and neckline of the dress; Miyako never ceased to amaze with her designing techniques as they actually looked like real waves.

As for the wedding cake, Kaarii and Josh helped us in choosing a seven-tiered, round cake that was to have aquamarine frosting, with white lace icing that had fish-shaped cut-outs and sea green starfish that would surround the sides. On top of the cake would be figurines of me and Rikiya in our wedding clothes holding hands with a scale model of Akihiro made of modeling chocolate leaping over us. Also, much like Luke and Momoko had done, we made sure to inform the caterers that alcohol was strictly prohibited during the reception and that fruit juices were to be served in its place. They wholeheartedly agreed since we were holding the reception at the aquarium which could be a very dangerous place for even sober people.

I lay upon the futon in my bedroom looking up at the ceiling as iie matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't fall asleep. After a few minutes, I heard my door open and looked over to see my mother entering the room.

"Having trouble falling asleep?" Mom asked of me with a warm smile.

"Hai, I'm excited, but I'm also kind of nervous" I told her as I sat up while she sat down upon my futon.

"I know how you feel; it was the same case for me when I married your father. But, if you don't sleep soon, you'll fall asleep while standing at the altar" Mom told me with a light giggle that I shared.

"The event isn't for at least another twelve hours, maybe I should take a mild sedative to help me sleep" I noted to her.

"Actually, I already brought you something to help you sleep" she told me as she showed me a bottle of warm milk.

I received the bottle into my hands and began to drink it down while Mom massaged my shoulders and I was soon feeling sleepy. She settled down into the futon alongside of me and I snuggled up against her as I fell asleep; she remained with me the whole night.

Awakening late the next morning, I joined my family for a hearty breakfast before returning to my room to begin getting dressed in my wedding gown with Mom assisting me. Once dressed in all but my bridal train, Mom led me to her room where she sat me down in a chair, covered my clothes with a sheet, and began to apply my makeup for me. She even applied waterproof mascara so that in the event I should wind up tearing up, it wouldn't run.

"There, you're as pretty as a picture" Mom said as she stepped back to examine me before letting me look into the mirror.

"Sugoi, you do good work, Mom!" I praised her with a smile as she held up my bridal train so as to finish getting dressed.

"Domo arigato, Kaoru-chan" she replied with a bow before leading out into the living room to set in a chair while the rest of my family was busily engaged in getting themselves dressed.

When Mom and Dad stepped out, he took one look at me and turned to Mom saying, "I don't know if I can do this!"

"You can and you will, or I'll have Dai give away the bride" Mom told him in a firm voice and he nodded his head in acceptance as he held his hand out to assist me in standing up just as my kyodai-tachi came out of their rooms to join us.

We then drove over to the aquarium where I was dismissed to sit in the office with Mom accompanying me. Soon my bridesmaids arrived and were all excitedly jabbering away while getting dressed as the groomsmen were also getting dressed in another part of the aquarium. As I understood it, Rikiya was already in the theater along with the preacher and the guests were already arriving.

Of all the guests to arrive, however, the one whom I had iie wish to see was my one ojisan who had attempted to molest me when I was just a toddler. When I was alerted to this, I turned to look for and signaled to Luke to share this with him.

"Don't worry; I'll handle him if he should try anything. Now, wipe that pout off your pretty face and replace it with a smile; this is your big day and you're supposed to be happy about it" Luke told me with a warm smile that soon even had me smiling in return.

That was when the signal was given for us to get ready as all of the guests had arrived and seated. Our youngest itoko-tachi were sent down the aisle first as Flower Girl and Ring-Bearer followed by Isamu and Kanta as Maid of Honor and Best Man, followed by Ami and Pazu, Kuriko and Ken, Kaarii and Josh, and finally Luke and Momoko. That was when the music changed and Dad and I were allowed to walk down the aisle together; I was so nervous that I was glad I had skipped lunch. But, as Luke had told us before, the second I laid eyes upon Rikiya waiting and smiling warmly at me from the end of the aisle, all nervousness left me and was replaced with eagerness and anticipation. Dad and I bowed to Rikiya and then he bowed to us before taking hold of my hand while my father left to sit beside my mother and kyodai-tachi. The music then cut off and the preacher approached the podium to begin the ceremony.

"Who gives this woman to be married to this man today?" he asked of the audience.

"Her mother and I do" I heard my father answer and the preacher nodded his head in acceptance before continuing.

"If anyone should wish to object to the marriage of this man to this woman, let them speak now forever hold their peace" the preacher announced and, much to my pleasure, iie one made a sound and the preacher bowed his head as he continued once again.

Our vows said and the rings exchanged, the preacher then said, "Let this marriage that we unite today in the presence of God, let iie man put asunder. You may kiss the bride."

We turned to each other while smiling brightly, tears of joy in our eyes, and we kissed happily before turning and retreating back up the aisle amidst some happy music, followed by the wedding procession, and finally our friends and family members.

Rikiya and I dipped into the room with Akihiro's holding tank where he was happily screeching and squealing as he saw us. I then walked over to read over his feeding chart when one of the girls who were caring for him during the event walked in.

"Omedeto to both of you; may you spend many happy years together" she bid us as she and I shared a hug before she walked over to begin feeding Akihiro.

"Domo arigato, Hina-chan" we both said in appreciation before bowing to her and leaving back out of the room to prepare to join the reception.

The Flower Girl and Ring-Bearer entered the reception area in the arms of the Maid of Honor and Best Man and were soon followed by the rest of the procession, though this time Rikiya and I entered together last amidst some loud applause.

After dinner, the dancing session began with my father and I sharing the first dance and half of the second dance together with Rikiya cutting in to finish up the last half of the second dance. We were then permitted to dance the third dance alone before we were joined by the rest of the procession for the fourth, and lastly, everyone joined in for the rest of the dance session until it came time for the cake cutting.

Everyone loved the chocolate Akihiro as the top tier with him, me, and Rikiya on top was set aside in a special container that was then taken to the refrigerator to be saved. Rikiya and I cut off the first slice and each took a bite before feeding the second forkful to the other with our arms linked.

People then began chanting, "Do it, do it" and Rikiya and I shared a look of confusion which soon turned to understanding as we look each other in the eyes. I then noticed the look of concern on Kaarii and Josh's faces before turning to look at Luke and Momoko who were looking at us in questioning while holding onto one another.

I then noticed that the two loudest of the instigators, both my kyodai-tachi, standing within arms-reach and turned to flash a mischievous grin to Rikiya while indicating with my eyes that Dai and Shou were within shooting range. But he cast a quick glance to the table where Sherbet and Clemintina were standing with concerned looks on their little faces and we so silently agreed not to engage the food fight.

"Gomen nasai, but cake this good shouldn't be wasted on childish behavior" Rikiya announced as we linked our arms together once more to feed the last bite to the other.

Despite the disappointed groans of some of our guests, we could also sense our friends relax and so the party continued without the food fight.

At one point during the party, I heard someone saying to the preacher, "I'd have made an objection to this marriage, but something told me that that Luke fellow would have turned around and ripped my throat out."

"Indeed he would have, my son. Luke is a kind-hearted individual for the most part, but turn him wrong, and he'll turn you inside out. That's why I know that Momoko-chan over there is a really special girl as she is his recent bride" the preacher said with a smile and watched as the fellow who was speaking with him paled and swallowed hard.

The party was dying down and Rikiya and I were getting ready to turn in for the night so as to begin out honeymoon the next morning. Turning my back to the wedding party, I tossed my bouquet back over my head when I soon heard the abrupt applause and turned around to see that Momoko had accidentally caught it.

"Forgive me this moment and try to understand that my intentions are pure when I do this" Momoko told the gathered guests just before ripping the bouquet in half and rewrapped each half separately before giving each half over to Ami and Isamu as they were planning to have a double ceremony wedding.

Rikiya and I were then seen off to our new condo and bid 'oyasumi nasai' as my parents were seeing the guests off. Rikiya slipped out after everyone had left, locked up, and set the alarm. He then returned to our room and settled into the bed where we curled up together and drifted off to sleep in each other's arms.

However, during the reception, nani none of us was aware of was the fax that came through, bearing sad, heart-breaking new, and wouldn't be found until the following morning by the two who would be managing the aquarium while we were gone.

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><p><strong>Carly: I'm happy for Kaoru and Rikiya, but why does that fax have me concerned?<strong>

**TCW: Good question.**

**Carly: So nani is in store for the next chapter?**

**Next time…**

**Kaoru: Rikiya and I leave for our honeymoon.**

**Rikiya: But the sad news is shared upon our return.**

**TCW: All this and still a whole lot more still to come.**

**Momoko and Carly: Just be sure to leave us some nice reviews while you wait!**


	55. Solemn Aquarium

**Domo arigato for the great reviews, my friends. This chapter will start off with some suggestive material, kept very light and I used generic terms so as to help keep things clean, however, I will still be marking out some spots with asterisks (*) for those who would still wish to skip those parts. But for now, let's move on with the story with…**

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><p><strong>Solemn Aquarium<strong>

Rikiya and I both awoke early the next morning and began packing our bags into the back of our car in preparation to leave off for our honeymoon just as the others were starting to arrive for work. I waved to Naru, the young woman who was going to be managing the aquarium while we were gone just as she was unlocking the aquarium.

Naru's POV

I waved back to Kaoru-sama as she and Rikiya were putting the last of their bags into their car before sprinting over to the office to deactivate the security alarm. Clicking on the lights, I then turned to notice a fax that was resting on the desk and began to read it just as Hina arrived excitedly.

"So nani is that; are we getting another guest to the aquarium?" she inquired when I passed the letter over to so she could read it for herself while I sat down in the desk chair in a state of shock. "Oh iie; should we tell Kaoru and Rikiya, they were good friends of theirs?"

"Iie, they just left off on their honeymoon. We'll wait until they come back as I'm sure they'll want to handle things personally" I replied as I gazed out the window to see Kaoru and Rikiya's car leave.

Kaoru's POV

Letting Rikiya drive, I removed my sandals from my feet and set them up on the dashboard while leaning back to take a nap when I heard him fuss at me, "Would you take your feet down off the dash; you're driving me nuts."

"Nani, can't I he comfortable while taking a nap?" I asked of him in reply.

"Un, but with your gorgeous feet up there like that you're making want to pull over and claim you now instead of waiting for our first night on our honeymoon" he grumbled and I looked up at him with a smile.

"Daijobu, if it'll make you feel better" I then said as I sat back up to watch the scenery pass by.

It was my first time visiting his home town and part of me was both excited and nervous about it.

We were three hours into our trip when I asked of Rikiya, "Can we take a rest stop; I need to use the little girls' oteari."

"I was just thinking that maybe we should stop to get some lunch, too" he replied as we pulled up to this nice little restaurant after exiting the highway.

"Rikiya, how have you been? We haven't seen hide nor hair of you in a few years…and with such an attractive young woman on your arm, too" exclaimed an elderly woman happily as we entered the restaurant.

"Gomen nasai, but where's the little girls' oteari?" I asked of her with a polite bow as I really needed to go.

"Right this way, koibito" the woman replied with an understanding smile as she led me to the oteari. "The lock's broken, so I'll stand by the door to ensure you're not disturbed."

Washing my hands after I was finished, I paused to look at myself in the mirror before drying my hands and exiting the oteari while bidding to the elderly woman, "Domo arigato, obaasan."

"Doitashimashite, dear; it's not every day we get that have such nice, young ladies coming through here" she replied as she led me back out to where Rikiya was waiting for me at the counter.

Just as Rikiya were digging into a couple of cups of ramen, a bunch of rough-looking truck drivers pulled up and entered the place. As Buttercup, I could handle myself in a fight, but right now, I wasn't as sure of myself.

"So, Rikiya, are you going to introduce us to your lovely little friend?" asked this one really big fellow who wore a t-shirt that had its sleeves ripped off to show off the guy's many tattoos.

"Of course, where are my manners; this is my lovely wife of 16 hours, Kaoru" Rikiya shared with the guys and many of them whistled in impression.

"I don't believe it, the great Rikiya has finally been tied down by a woman" one of the other guys spoke out.

"Give the newlywed couple a couple of sakes on me" noted the big one as he clapped Rikiya on the back.

"Rikiya, we don't drink" I whispered to him as the truckers began to gather at the pool table.

"Don't worry; I already told Yubaba and she's going to give us a couple of sodas instead" he whispered back to me as she placed the beverage cups onto the counter in front of us.

We soon finished and Rikiya paid the bill as I stepped down from my seat when this one guy came up to stand uncomfortably close to me; I could smell the horrible fragrance of the guy's sweat and body odor and had to hold my breath to keep from losing my lunch on the floor. Rikiya must have noticed my discomfort as he drew me over to stand on the other side of him.

"Hey, Yubaba; I'd like ten beers for me and my buddies" the foul-smelling man requested while staring at me lustfully.

"So, Kaoru-chan, would you like to learn how to play pool?" asked another man as he came up to stand behind me.

"Iie arigato; I never enjoyed the game" I replied politely; iie sense in setting these guys off with a curt response.

"Gentlemen, mind your manners and behavior" cautioned Yubaba as she came out from behind the counter with a shotgun in hand while setting a reassuring hand upon my shoulder before directing me and Rikiya to the door.

"Are you sure you can handle those guys?" I asked of her in concern once we were back outside in the bright sunlight.

"Oh don't worry about me; I know how to keep those boys in line. Now you two had best get back on your way to your honeymoon" she replied to me before closing the car door while escorting Rikiya to the driver's side door.

Once we were back on the road, I glanced into the rearview mirror to see Yubaba re-enter her restaurant and every single one of the truckers running out with looks of fear on their faces as they jumped back into their trucks and took off in the opposite direction.

"That shotgun has been in Yubaba's family for ten generations and she's known how to use it since she learned how to walk" Rikiya then informed me and I glanced back to him in surprise.

"Do you know of any place where I can change my clothes; they stink of those foul-smelling baka-tachi" I told Rikiya and he pulled off to the side of the road where I slipped out and took up one of my bags while Rikiya held up a blanket to cover me so that I could change in privacy.

Of course, when I tossed my underpants into a plastic bag, Rikiya knew the real reason I wished to change; I had accidentally peed my pants when those guys began to surround me as I knew nani they had had on their filthy minds. Finished changing and putting my bag back into the trunk, Rikiya instructed me to climb into the backseat which I didn't argue with as I wanted to take a nap anyways.

I was being shaken awake by someone and glanced up to see Rikiya's mother smiling down at me while she said, "Rikiya told me about your encounter; are you alright?"

I shot out of the car and wrapped my arms around her tightly as I began crying when she wrapped her arms around me to hold me.

"Next time I see those baka-tachi, I'm going to give them a piece of my mind" noted Rikiya's father as he came up and pulled me back up against him to give me a hug, too.

I glanced up at him and smiled in appreciation when an elderly woman came up and began shouting and waving her cane, "Well, don't just stand out there with Rikiya's young bride; get your o-shiri-tachi in here!"

"Hai, Mom; we're coming in right now" Rikiya's father replied while holding his hands up in a placating manner so as to settle the woman down.

"Obaachan can seem a bit mean, but she's really a very nice person" Rikiya told me as he and I linked our arms before proceeding inside their home.

Once we entered, I was pulled away from Rikiya by his obaasan and as she sat down in a chair, she sat me down upon the ottoman while she held onto both of my hands as she said, "Now then, tell me about nani happened with those nasty truckers. I happen to know their mothers personally and they will be sure to give their boys the licking they deserve."

I told her nani had happened and she listened intently to my every word, being sure to explain how it was the biggest one who remained innocent the whole time, before turning to the telephone and began making some phone calls when I turned to ask Rikiya as he knelt down on the floor beside me, "She doesn't really believe their mothers can do anything about their full-grown sons, does she?"

"You don't know these women" he told me wisely as he kissed me on the temple.

Normal POV

The cell phones of the nine truckers began ringing and when they answered them, they all heard the same heated message from their mothers, "When you're done with your deliveries, I expect you to stop in at home; you have much to answer for the way you treated Sora's giri-no magomusume."

"Ooh, I'm going to get a caning when I get home" each man said as he hung up his phone and put them away.

Kaoru's POV

Rikiya and I stayed until after dinner when we continued our journey a little further to the cabin that we were renting by the lake. Unpacking our things from the car, we carried them inside and gave pause to take a look around the cabin.

There was an HD television hanging on the wall across from the couch, though we had little intention of using the television. A large fireplace stood off to one side of the room with a large lambskin rug lying on the floor in front of it. A kitchenette was off the entertainment area.

The bedroom held a futon for two and the furoba not only had a tub big enough for two, but also had a shower. The benki was in a closet off to the side of the furoba. Looking out the back window, I could see a small pontoon boat tied up to the dock.

Rikiya soon had a nice fire roaring in the fireplace and we then left to get washed up. *****The main room was nice and warm by the time we returned and Rikiya dropped a clean, dry towel onto the lambskin rug before I laid down on it, enjoying the soft texture of rug as it caressed my bare skin.

We began making love to one another for a few hours before finally rising up to leave for the bedroom after Rikiya closed the glass doors of the fireplace.***** Curling up together, we drifted off to sleep in each other's arms.

The next morning, after breakfast, we went out onto the pontoon boat and Rikiya drove us out into the middle of the lake before dropping the anchor. *****One of the nice amenities of having the only cabin on the lake, not only were we the only ones there, but after dropping the boarding ladder down into the water, I stripped off my bathing suit and dove into the water with Rikiya following after me. After a few minutes of toying and playing with each other we boarded the boat once again where we made love to each other even more while letting the sun warm and dry us off.*****

We then decided to do a little fishing and soon brought our catch back to shore where Rikiya cleaned the fish before I set them into the pan to begin frying it up for our lunch. *****For the few days it rained, we remained inside and in front of the fireplace holding onto each other while making out.*****

"You know, I wonder how much it would cost for us to have a fireplace installed on the condo" I noted to Rikiya while we were lying back and on the lambskin rug.

"Remind me when we get home and I'll call up the contractors to ask them" Rikiya told me just before we rose up and headed off to our bed for the last time as we would be leaving in the morning.

Up early the next morning, we packed up our things, including the lambskin rug which we would send the owner of the cabin some extra money for, and left to return home, but not before stopping to see Rikiya's family one final time.

"So, Rikiya, were you two busy making us some grandchildren while at the lake?" his mother asked of him excitedly.

"Well, we tried, but we don't know how successful we were" Rikiya replied bashfully while blushing brightly.

"Um, with all due respect, we really should be heading for home or Naru is going to start worrying about us" I told Rikiya politely though my cheeks were equally red if not redder than his.

"Of course, you have that beautiful aquarium to get back to. Sayonara, you two, and be sure to visit us again sometime soon" Rikiya's father said as he came up behind me so as to wrap his arms around me in a big hug.

"We will, Dad" Rikiya said as he hugged both his mother and grandmother sayonara and we were soon back on our way home.

It was late in the evening by the time we got back and began unpacking our things from the car while Naru read over the week's reports aloud to us when she said, "Oh, and this fax arrived the moment you two left but I thought it best not to bother you with it until your return."

She then handed me the fax which I read and re-read to make sure I wasn't just imagining the whole thing before sitting down upon the side of our bed with one hand clasped over my mouth, tears in my eyes, and just barely holding onto the fax.

"So, the cancer has taken a turn for the worst. Oh well, you can't always fight the inevitable" Rikiya said quietly though I could hear the tears in his voice.

A few days later, we received a phone call telling us that a funeral procession was heading our way and so Rikiya, myself, and a team of other divers made ready to take the deceased down to the bottom of the underwater exhibit which included the undersea observation center; closed to the public as soon as we received the call. When the squad car and hearse arrived, we all snapped to attention; not an easy task when you want to cry your eyes out, but I still remained vigilant. Words were spoken on behalf of the deceased and when the funeral was over, we picked up the casket and began to carry it into the water to be placed into a specially built tomb.

Placing the casket into the tomb, while the mourners were permitted to watch from the observation center, we soon covered it with the lid which had been done up so as to resemble a piece of the scenery with faux coral and rocks set on top. Many fish soon swam over and began to mingle around the lid while a moray eel moved into one of the crevices. We all then saluted the tomb for a few minutes before heading over to the observation center in which was a hatch to allow divers access into and out of the center.

Once I was up and out of the water, I removed my re-breather and swim fins before excusing myself to head off and have a good cry in the upper office where I wouldn't be seen by the public's eyes. Rikiya soon entered the office with me and took hold me up to hold me in his arms. Having secretly locked the door behind himself so that we wouldn't be disturbed, Rikiya slowly began to slip me out of my wetsuit and we were soon making out in spite of the sad, solemn occasion that we had just attended.

"Promise me that we will never leave the aquarium to anybody but our own children" I asked of Rikiya while we were changing our clothes.

"I promise you, our children will be the inheritors of the aquarium" he vowed to me and we shared another quick kiss before getting back to work.

It was the Thursday morning just before we would be attending the double wedding ceremonies for Ami, Pazu, Isamu, and Kanta, when an unusual shipment arrived via tractor trailer. We were summoned to the loading dock to sign for the item in question as it was specifically addressed to me.

"Nani on earth did you order?" Rikiya asked as he looked at the size of the crate, it had to be at least ten feet tall by ten feet wide.

"I didn't order anything; I'm as confused as you are" I confessed as we looked at the crate.

"Un, well you're going to need a crane to unload that thing" the driver, the really big guy we had met while on our honeymoon, informed us honestly.

"Nani do you mean?" I asked of him in confusion.

"It's a crazy story, but I'll tell you anyways. It was in the middle of the night when this thick fog bank rolled in and but thirty minutes later, it cleared and, nani had been an empty flat-bed trailer, had this thing on it. Now, I tell you that if we had heard the sound of a crane's engine in the middle of the fog, we'd have understood it better, but it was completely silent. So anyways, once the fog cleared, we ran out with our flashlights and began to check the crate over when we found a shipping label upon it, addressed to you here at the aquarium" the trucker told me and we all looked at the thing even closer.

Rikiya then summoned the crane over and we soon had the crate wrapped up with chains and attached to the hook. When the winch was activated, we could hear it and the pulley straining under the weight. Fearing that if we lifted the crate any higher than an inch, that the crane's arm would bend out of shape from the weight, we had the crane lower it to the ground once the crate was clear of the trailer. Once a ladder had been brought over, I was handed a crowbar and ascended the ladder to pry the top off.

"Holy mackerel; this thing is an enormous clam and it's still alive!" I exclaimed once I had peered into the crate.

"Now wait a minute, in all of my studies I have never once heard of a giant clam reaching these immense proportions" noted one of the marine biologists who specialized in shellfish and crustaceans.

"Nevertheless, this thing is that big" I told him as I signaled the crane operator to bring over the bigger crane as we would need to put this thing on a boat so as to place it into the undersea exhibit.

Usually used for releasing injured cetaceans back out at sea, we loaded the giant clam onto the transportation boat using its large crane and carried it into the undersea exhibit where we lowered it down into the water. Riding in one of our four zodiacs, Rikiya and I soon dove into the water to see to it that the clam was safely placed onto the ocean floor while still within visual range of our visitors. We had just finished setting the giant creature down when it opened to reveal a pearl of only slightly smaller proportions and perfectly round. Rikiya and I turned to stare at one another in complete astonishment before turning back in time to watch as the clam closed. Rikiya then signaled to me to return to the surface and I nodded my head in agreement.

"Did you see the size of that pearl? It's got to be worth a fortune!" exclaimed Naru in excitement.

"Hai, but we're going to leave it there" I replied much to the amazement of our coworkers and Rikiya.

"But Kaoru-san, that pearl could not only pay off our debt, but could also pay to finish up the park" Kana, our bookkeeper, said in concern.

"I know, but until I know more about that thing and where it came from, we're going to leave it alone. For all we know, that thing could have been susceptible to radiation or something" I replied before signaling to Hina to pass me my cell phone as I stepped up onto the dock.

Later that afternoon, after sharing a cup of tea with some of the men from a Hazardous Material facility after they had scanned the massive clam for radiation, I sat behind the desk of the main office staring at the computer in frustration. I had searched and searched for the name Aquarius Regina and the company of Kingdom Mermaid, but to iie result.

"Who is this woman and why did she send me a giant clam with a pearl valuable enough to by an island with it?" I asked aloud just as Rikiya entered the office.

"Good question, but for now, I've hired a security detail to watch over the pearl and the clam to make sure iie one tries to steal it" Rikiya replied as he sat down on the corner of the desk.

"Maybe we should have it moved inside to be housed in one of the predatory shark tanks" I suggested as I knew how risky it was to leave the pearl out there like that.

"I was just thinking the same thing, but we'd have to completely redesign the tank if we did" Rikiya informed me.

"Un, well we'd better put that idea on the back burner for the time being. We've got a wedding to attend Saturday and the official Grand Opening day of the new undersea exhibit on Monday" I told Rikiya with a yawn.

"We'll be closing in a couple of hours; why don't you head off to bed" Rikiya suggested with a grin.

"I'd rather get some of the work done so that we can send the others home with enough time for us to fool around still" I told him with a smile and he nodded his head to me as we rose up and went to get back to work.

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><p><strong>Carly: I bet I know where that clam came from.<strong>

**TCW: I'm willing to bet that you do, too. However, for those who don't know, let's keep it a secret for the time being, shall we?**

**Carly: Okay! So nani is in store for the next chapter?**

**Next time…**

**Ami and Isamu: We're getting married!**

**Professor Kitazawa: And I'm giving away the brides!**

**TCW: All this and still much more yet to come, so stay tuned.**

**Momoko and Carly: Meanwhile, be sure to leave us some nice reviews, onegai and arigato.**


	56. Double Ceremony

**Arigato once more for the many great reviews, my friends. For this chapter, we will be beginning in Isamu's POV as she and Ami get ready for their…**

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><p><strong>Double Ceremony<strong>

Ami and I sat up from our futon with a yawn before smiling to one another as today was our big day. Jumping up, we speedily removed the sheets from the futon and I rolled it up while Ami put away the pillows we had used before dashing out of the room to join Luke and Momoko in the kitchen to eat a hearty breakfast.

"Ohayo, you two; I'm surprised that you didn't sleep in" Momoko greeted us as we entered the kitchen while still in our nightgowns.

"We're too excited to sleep in" Ami replied with a smile.

"I would have, but someone insisted on our getting up so as to get some breakfast" I returned with a yawn.

"Well, after breakfast, you two can grab an extra hour or two of sleep while Momoko and I issue your massages" Luke informed us as he finished his morning cup of tea before rising up to get the onsen out back set up; he also had a portable massage couch that he kept with him in case of an emergency.

Once we had finished breakfast, Momoko led us to the onsen in the backyard where Luke was waiting for us. Momoko then took us into the bathing area where she had us undress before sitting us down on a couple of chairs to get our hair wrapped up in shower caps so as not to mess up our newly styled hair. Momoko then helped us to slip into the hot water of the onsen where we were permitted to soak while she left back out to join Luke in going over some last minute details for issuing us our massages.

Once done with soaking up the hot water, Momoko helped us up out of the water before helping us to dry off. Wrapped up in a couple of robes, we were then led back into the massage center where each couch was set up with different fragranced massage oils that would match our individual tastes. Luke worked on me while Momoko worked on Ami and half way into our massages we were both asleep.

We were being shaken awake by both of them as Momoko told us, "Come on, you need to wake up and get dressed now; your weddings start in about two hours."

Fully awake and feeling refreshed after a three hour nap, we washed our faces before returning to the house where Luke helped each of us in turn with getting dressed before we were dismissed to have Momoko do our makeup for us, including water-proof mascara. We were then dismissed to allow the two of them to get dressed while we waited for them downstairs.

"I'm kind of nervous" Ami told me after a while.

"I know how you feel, but as we have heard Luke say so many times to our other friends, 'When you see your fiancé waiting for you down at the other end of the aisle, all nervousness will escape you and instead you'll want to rush forward and into their arms'" I told her and she nodded her head in agreement.

Momoko's POV

"I can only imagine how you feel right now, Luke, but if you don't pull yourself together, you're not going to be able to walk Isamu down the aisle" I told him while watching Luke crying after he had finished getting dressed.

"But to me they're still little girls that need me to protect them" Luke said to me while struggling to pull himself together.

"But they're not; now is the time where you have to let them go to be watched over and lovingly protected by their new husbands. And when their husbands can't be there to protect them, they know that their Oniisan is still around to provide that extra backup that they need. Though I may very well be in your position next weekend when Kuriko and Ken are to be married" I further encouraged him and he nodded his head in agreement before rising up to wash the tears from his face as he took down one of the buster swords that Isamu had recently given to him as a present; she knew how much he liked them and was now diligently helping him to get together a complete collection.

Setting his newest sword upon his belt, he then squared his shoulders and took a deep breath before holding his hand out to me. Taking hold of his outstretched hand, I rose up with his assistance, wrapped my arm around his, and we left to head downstairs to meet up with Ami and Isamu.

Isamu's POV

Hearing the sounds of footsteps coming down the stairs Ami and I turned to watch as Oniichan and Momoko-chan entered the room when I noticed the sword on Luke's side and thus exclaimed, "Hey, you're wearing the new sword I gave you!"

"Hai, in case anyone should try to disrupt the ceremony and to keep your husbands from chickening out" he told us with a grin which soon had the rest of us giggling.

"Oh well, iie time like the present; our ride is here" Momoko announced as a limo pulled up in front of the house.

We were holding the wedding at the lab since we weren't expecting that many visitors outside of our friends and their immediate families, but when we entered the lab, we were completely caught by surprise when our friend Robin from America was there waiting to see us.

"Well, don't you two look just lovely" she said with a bright smile as we each shared a hug with her.

"But nani are you doing here, Robin?" Ami asked in surprise.

"Well when I heard that two of my best childhood friends were getting married, I knew I just had to find a way to come watch the special event. That and the fact that Luke invited me" she replied though adding in the last part rather sheepishly.

"Well, I'm sure glad he did" I said in response just before the announcement was made that the ceremony was about to begin.

Ojisan and Obasan were giving away the brides, but Luke was escorting me down the aisle while Ojisan was escorting Ami. 'Clem' and 'Sherri' were acting as Ring Bearer and Flower Girl while Kuriko was acting as our Maid of Honor with Ken as Best Man.

I could feel the butterflies in my stomach while Ami looked as though she was going to hurl as it came time for us to start down the aisle with Ojisan and Oniichan escorting us. However, as Luke had informed us about three times now, as soon as laid eyes on our grooms, we both brightened and iie longer felt nervous. We finally reached them and we bowed to them before they bowed to us. Ojisan left to sit beside Obachan while Luke left to sit with Momoko; we'd have asked her to be part of the procession, but since Luke was escorting me, she would have had to walk down the aisle on her own and it was felt that that would be highly inappropriate.

The preacher stepped up to the podium and called the wedding to order before asking, "Who gives these women to be lawfully wedded to these men?"

"Their Obasan, Oniichan, Giri-no Oneechan, and I do" answered Ojisan and the preacher nodded his head in acceptance; we'd already informed him of nani had happened to our father and he never asked about our mother.

As expected, iie one made any objections to our being married to our fiancés when the invited guests were asked if they had any objections.

After sharing a brief kiss once we had been permitted to, we all walked over to the reception area while many of our guests picked up and began to move their chairs to the tables that had been set up with much food, fruit juices, and even the wedding cakes.

Ami's and Pazu's cake was done up in white icing, teal icing around the borders, and had both blue Caduceus and red crosses, with a modeling chocolate and fondant stethoscope sitting on top and streaming it's listening end down the side; the ear-pieces were set up so as to form a heart around the bride and groom figurines that stood on top.

Mine and Kanta's cake was white with lime modeling chocolate and fondant bamboo streaming around it with crossed katana-tachi adorning the sides. The bamboo even formed a heart around the bride and groom figurines.

Ami and Pazu were allowed to cut their cake first with Pazu joking, "Shall we begin cutting the patient?"

Of course his little joke was met with some giggles and chuckles. Much like those before us, they refused to engage the food fight that was usually customary play between the newlyweds. Fortunately, for him, Kanta had held the same restraint as Luke was trying his best not to withdraw his sword from its sheath but merely kept his hand upon the hilt.

When it came time to present our bouquets to the next lucky girl to be married, we sat Kaarii, Miyako, and Kuriko down, with their fiancés standing behind them, and blindfolded all six of them. After some whispering as to which girl was to receive the bouquets, which Momoko had wrapped together, we came to an agreement and placed the bouquet upon the table in front of the one we had chosen.

At the count of three, we both announced, "You may remove your blindfolds."

Kuriko let out a screech of delight and clutched the bouquet to her chest as she was the girl we had chosen. Many congratulations were murmured to the future young couple as they hugged and kissed each other in happiness.

We were then seen off by our friends and family members as we left to begin our honeymoons; we were both heading for Hawaii, though while Kanta and I were going to Honolulu, Ami and Pazu were heading for Waikiki.

Ami's POV

Pazu and I spent much time on the beach burying each other in the sand, playing in the surf, and, of course, making out up in our hotel room either in the shower, bath, or our bed. When we met up with Isamu and Kanta at the Townsville Airport, as per our agreement to stop and pay our respects to our lost loved ones before returning home, I learned that they weren't quite as decent as they had even made out while on the beach and in the surf though still making sure to remain out of sight of the other guests.

"So this is where you girls grew up" noted Kanta while looking around at the sights.

"Hai and iie; a lot has changed over the years we've been gone" Isamu answered while Pazu was trying to hail us a cab but wasn't being very successful.

"I think it'd be easier and quicker if we flew there" Pazu said as he returned to us after narrowly missing being hit by one cab.

Slipping around a corner to hide, we secretly transformed into our Powerpuff Z forms and took flight only to be flagged back down and arrested by a group of police officers with sniper rifles.

While being read our rights, I asked, "May we at least know as to why we are being arrested?"

"There's a strict law against super-powered flying beings in this city which you have violated" the officer answered.

"Nani, since when?" asked Barrage in disbelief.

"Since 8 months ago, now be quiet" answered another officer as he pulled out his baton and began to threaten us with it.

"Look, we're sorry, but we didn't know about the law; this is our first time visiting your city" Pazu said in a calm voice, hoping to placate the officers.

"The only reason we were trying to fly to the cemetery was because we couldn't get a cab; one even tried to run him over" noted Butch to the officers in reasoning.

"Blade's going to start worrying if we don't return home on time" Barrage then noted to me.

Just then a black limousine pulled up and from the back, out stepped a woman with long, curly red hair and the officers quickly snapped to attention as she demanded, "What's going on here?"

"Mayor Bellum, we apprehended these four flying away from the airport and were just reading them their rights" answered the senior officer with his baton in hand.

"They claim to be first time visitors" noted one junior officer in addition.

"I would have thought Luke would have explained it to you two that there have been some changes in the laws in this city" Bellum said in firmness to us.

"We didn't tell him that we were planning a quick visit to pay our respects to our lost loved ones" I replied in honesty.

"I see; release them. The four of you are to change back into your street forms and then follow me" Ms. Bellum ordered and, once released of the handcuffs, we obeyed her instructions and followed her into the back of the limo. "Driver, take us to Townsville Cemetery."

We rode alone in silence though the tension was thick enough to cut with a knife. At one point, I reached up to brush away a tear from my eye when the sunlight glinted off of the rings on my finger and caught Mayor Bellum's attention. She then glanced over and noticed the rings on Isamu's hand before looking and noticing the wedding bands on Kanta and Pazu.

When we pulled up to the cemetery, the driver took us to the burial sites of Blossom and the Professor. We then stepped out of the car and both Isamu and I knelt down on the ground before the gravestones while our menfolk remained standing behind us with their heads bowed in respect while we all remained silent. Isamu and I then bowed our heads and offered prayers on behalf of our loved ones when a massive beam of lights shone down upon the four of us.

"Hey, you two; omedeto on your recent marriages" spoke a familiar voice and we both glanced up to see Blossom sitting upon her gravestone and with Luke's old sword hanging from her back between two massive wings.

Pazu and Kanta then dropped to their knees and prostrated themselves beside us while keeping from looking at our sister.

"Domo arigato, Blossom; you seem to have done well for yourself amongst the powers that be" noted Isamu while wiping the tears from her eyes.

"Hai, well helping Blade to destroy Him and then allowing our imoto-tachi to enter Luke and Momoko really impressed my previous superior's superior, I was promoted and my previous superior was demoted" Blossom explained lightly.

"Wait, did you say that you let out imoto-tachi pass into Luke and Momoko?" I inquired in surprise.

"Hai, well it was decreed that since they were being manipulated against their will into committing those horrible crimes, then they should be allowed a second chance" Blossom explained to us.

"Blossom, remember what I told you earlier" noted a thunderous voice from above.

"I know, I know; I haven't forgotten. This from the guy who misplaced the scroll that he had placed in his pocket" Blossom replied to the entity.

"Hey, that was supposed to be a secret!" the voice then said in anger.

"Oops, did I say that out loud?" Blossom then said as she crossed her arms and rolled her eyes.

"I ought to put you over my knee for that" the entity then threatened.

"And if you do I will tell Luke when his time comes" Blossom returned with a smile to us.

"Fine, but your remaining ten minutes has just been reduced to five" the voice then said and left.

"Who's that?" Isamu asked.

"My superior; he has a crush on me, but I told him that he'd have to wait until after Armageddon when we're allowed to return to our mortal forms before I'd start dating him" Blossom explained to us.

"He'd best learn to watch his step around Luke then" I noted to her with a grin.

"True, but my time is almost up now, so you two take care now. Oh, and gentlemen, treat my shimai well or there's going to Hell to pay when your times come" Blossom said with a mild giggle.

"Hai, Blossom-sama" they replied to her as she rose up and vanished back up to the other realm while the light around us dissipated.

"Come on, guys; we've got a plane to catch to return home" Isamu said as she encouraged them to stand up though wiping the tears from her eyes.

"Sayonara, Blossom" I said quietly to the cloud which she had disappeared behind, while wiping tears from my own eyes.

We were traveling back to the airport in silence when Mayor Bellum said, "You just saw your sister's spirit, haven't you anything to say?"

"Nani do you expect us to say other than 'arigato for helping us in reaching the cemetery'? People have gotten a whole lot more unfriendly since we left and I have iie intention of coming back now that I know Blossom's alright and that my imoto-tachi may someday become my new mei-tachi" Isamu responded a bit harshly, though, honestly.

"It has hasn't it; I don't know what's become of this city or its people" Mayor Bellum finally said in defeat.

"It was going downhill when the old mayor was in charge; we were just too busy trying to live our lives to the fullest under Oniichan's protective, watchful eye to stop and notice" Isamu replied with a sigh as we pulled up to the airport.

"Well, this is your stop; will we ever see you again?" Ms. Bellum inquired of us quietly.

"I hope you can understand when we answer: 'Iie'" Pazu replied on our behalves.

"I do understand. Take care of yourselves" Mayor Bellum wished us as Isamu and I, in spite of all that had happened, shared one final hug with her before turning and dashing off to the gate to meet our flight back to Hawaii and then on home to Tokyo.

Kanta's POV

We boarded the plane just as the last call was being made for us to meet our flight and, almost as soon as we were all in our seats and our gear stored, the girls were sound asleep. But then, one could scarcely blame them for being so tired since we went from being visitors to hardened criminals to giri-no oniisan-tachi to an angel; though not quite as pretty as the angel sleeping at my side.

"I suppose this means we should really watch our steps since their shimai is an angel of ranking" Pazu surmised from across the aisle.

"Maybe, but I think we should watch our steps anyways; let's face it, we know nani Luke is capable of when he gets angry" I replied lightly and Pazu nodded his head in strong agreement.

When the plane touched down for its scheduled lay-over in Hawaii, we gently shook the girls awake so that they could stand up, stretch out a bit, and use the oteari and we even moved up sit closer to the door. Isamu was just coming back from the oteari when the announcement for us to take to our seats so as to allow other travelers to board and find their seats easier. As soon as we were airborne once again, we joined the girls in taking a nap.

We were awakened when the pilot announced, "Don't be alarmed folks, but we have special 'Welcome Home' guests flying alongside us."

We all sat up and looked out the windows to see Blade flying alongside the airplane with his hand placed against the window Isamu was sitting by. She reached up and placed her hand onto the window as though to touch Blade's hand in return and smiled at him. Blossom was doing the same on the other side of the plane by Ami's window and even Ami reached to put her hand against the window with a smile on her face. Blade then signaled something to the others and they pulled back and away from the plane so as to allow the pilot to land the plane safely.

Once we had departed the plane we were all met by our family and friends as they all rushed up to give us all hugs and kisses; happy to see that we had returned safely. Though at one point, I noticed Isamu and Ami pull Luke aside and were talking with him for a few minutes before they all shared a tearful hug. I then realized just nani it was they had been discussing and so bowed my head in respectful silence when the others noticed and followed suit.

Later that evening, after returning to our respectful homes, we each set up a family memorial in our homes featuring Blossom's and their father's names and lit candles between the two photos before bowing our heads again in respectful silence before heading off for bed.

Momoko's POV

It was nice to have our loved ones home once again and Kuriko was getting amped up for her wedding, only for some strange reason, there seemed to be a dark shadow getting ready to overcome this future, bright occasion. I can only hope for their sake that we can stop it before the darkness succeeded in its mission of ruining Kuriko's big day.

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><p><strong>Carly: A rather solemn and mysterious end to an otherwise cheerful chapter. Rather short, too.<strong>

**TCW: Gomen nasai, but I'm hoping to make up for it with the next chapter.**

**Carly: Duly noted, so nani is in store for the next fun chapter?**

**Next time…**

**Kuriko and Ken: We're getting married!**

**Momoko: Only there seems to be a bit of a snag in their plans when Ken's and our families decide to quarrel over old arguments.**

**TCW: All this and still a whole lot more to come.**

**Carly and Momoko: Only be sure to leave us some nice reviews while you wait, onegai!**


	57. Ken and Kuriko

**Domo arigato for the many wonderful reviews; I'm really pleased to see people enjoying all of my hard work. For this chapter we join our friends in an almost Romeo & Juliet-like performance with…**

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><p><strong>Ken and Kuriko<strong>

The wedding invitations were sent out almost a week ago and the returning replies in the RSVP's were anything but encouraging. Both the Akatsutsumi family and the Kitazawa family were displaying sings of dissatisfaction and anger as they were against the marriage for some reason.

One afternoon, I had stopped in to visit with my family after work only to find Kuriko sitting in a pile of mail and crying her eyes out. Even Mom and Dad, sitting off to the sides were reading a couple of the letters with looks of anger on their faces, so I picked up one letter and began reading it to see nani was wrong. Gasping in shock, disbelief, and anger, I pulled out my cell phone and called Luke up immediately.

When he arrived, I showed him the letter and even he began to look cross but held his temper while telling us, "Daijobu, let's get some organization done and unbury Kuriko from all of this hate-mail."

Following his example, we all sat down and began to rummage through the mail, sorting it into stacks ranging from mild apprehension to outright rage against the wedding. There was also a slightly smaller stack that showed joy in knowing that Kuriko was marrying someone of standing with the legendary Powerpuffs Z.

"None of this makes any sense; why would so many be against the wedding?" Luke asked aloud when his cell phone began ringing; Ken was in a similar situation back at the lab.

Gathering Kuriko's letters together, we headed over to the lab to sort through Ken's letters similarly with less promising results; where Kuriko had received 5 congratulatory letters, Ken only received two.

"I just don't understand why so many are against the wedding and nani is with this reference to the family history?" asked Akira in disdain.

"I don't understand it either, taisetsu-na" replied the Professor with a sigh.

"I guess I'd better call Miyako and Kaarii to cancel my wedding gown and the cake" Kuriko said while wiping tears from her eyes.

"Not yet, Kuriko-chan; I think we should do some research first to see if we can get to the bottom of this. Unfortunately it's too late to head over to the library to do our research, so let's all return home and get some sleep. We'll go to the library tomorrow" Luke pronounced and we all agreed to it.

While riding home after giving Kuriko a hug and kiss sayonara, I got to thinking and pulled out my cell phone while signaling Luke to pull over to the side where he turned the motorcycle off so I could make my phone call.

"Kaarii-chan, how would you like to join us at the library tomorrow to do some family history searching on both the Kitazawa and Akatsutsumi families?" I asked of her once she answered.

"Sure, I can the time off, but why do you need to research the families' histories?" she replied in confusion.

When I told her nani was going on, I could hear the anger reverberating in her voice when she said, "I'll be there."

The next day, we met up at the library where Kaarii and I research my family while Luke researched the Kitazawa family; Ken and Kuriko sat off to the side, quietly reading Shakespeare's 'Romeo & Juliet' together which didn't go unnoticed by Kaarii.

We had finished compiling out data together into a brief summary to present to the families when I looked up to notice that Ken and Kuriko had disappeared, but the copy of 'Romeo & Juliet' that they had been reading was lying on the table.

"Oh iie, don't tell me they went and…" Kaarii had started to say but let her thought drift off as she jumped up and began to dash off towards the door, but quickly gave pause when she spotted the two of them napping on a couch together.

"Thought they'd gone and followed the examples of Romeo and Juliet, Kaarii-chan?" Luke asked and Kaarii turned around with a blush in her cheeks while still wiping tears of relief from her eyes.

"I'll wake them" I said as I set a comforting hand upon Kaarii's shoulder before walking over and shaking the two of them awake. "We're finished with our research; let's go home."

When we returned to the lab, we all ate lunch before sharing our information with the others.

"So nani did your research reveal?" inquired Akira and Mom simultaneously.

"It turns out that there were two divisions of the Akatsutsumi and Kitazawa families and most of those who are against the weddings are from the, for lack of a better term, 'bad' side of the families" Kaarii began before turning to me and Luke so as to let us continue with the explanation.

"I'll be covering the majority of this with the 'bad side' of the families. You see, at one time, back during the Edo-era, there was the Akatsutsumi family who both lived on and worked the farms owned by a sadistic daimyo from the Kitazawa family. Of this daimyo, he had been striving to be a member of the newly forming scientific community, but was ostracized by the family due to his human-experiments of which I shall not go into; they're just too disgusting to discuss. This daimyo, however, still practiced without permission or license by kidnapping members of the Akatsutsumi family and performing his human-experiments upon them" Luke explained in summary.

"Of the good side of the families, there was the great Professor Hiraga Kennai, who had dismissed the daimyo, and Akatsutsumi Momo who was a member of the legendary Oedo Chakichaki Musume. Now, our family stems from Momo and all you come from Professor Kennai, but our families think that we stem from the 'bad side' of the families. Thus, our goal is to try and convince all of them that we're not" I finished explaining.

"You almost make it sound like an easy task" Dad said with a sigh.

"Quite the contrary, but, hopefully when we write up Kuriko's and Ken's soon-to-be family tree, we can at least give them some kind of light to nani they are perceiving as a dark cave" Luke said as he and I stood up and began drawing up the family tree, using Ken and Kuriko as the unity between the two trees.

It took us almost the remainder of the day, but once we had finally got it all completed, we highlighted the good side of the families against the bad side of the families. We then began to make enough copies to send back to the negative repliers along with second invitations to Ken and Kuriko's wedding.

Luke and I mailed them the next day and four days later, the replies came back once again with many apologies for the confusion, though there were still some who refused to believe that nani we were telling them was true. Of the latter, we decided that it would be there loss if they missed the wedding. But nani surprised most of them was when they realized that Luke was part of the good side of the Kitazawa family, too; the Professor's and Luke's father's great-great-grandmothers were shimai-tachi.

Once the argument was predominantly settled, the wedding was back underway. The wedding cake was going to be white with orange flowers spiraling around it with yellow lace resting atop the five tiers. On the very top, the two figurines stood with a brass spyglass for a telescope behind them.

Kuriko's wedding dress, however, had many trying to figure out whether or not to run for a bucket of water as, while predominantly white, the hem, neckline, and lace around the cuffs of the sleeves looked as though they were on fire as it was a perfect mix of tangerine, orange, and yellow patterned to look like they were literal flames. A clementine sash forming an obi was wrapped around her waist. Mom and I had even managed to find some small, orange flower blossoms to decorate her hair with.

Luke stepped into the changing room just after we had finished getting her dressed and she asked of him, "Well, how do I look, Oniichan?"

"You look wonderful, Kuriko-chan" Luke replied with a smile before leaning down to kiss her on the forehead.

"Time to start, Kuriko-chan" Dad announced as he stepped into the room and both Luke and I took our places in the procession line; Kaarii and Josh were Maid of Honor and Best Man while once again 'Clem' and 'Sheri' were Ring-Bearer and Flower Girl.

That was when he heard the shouting starting to erupt from the welcomed guests. We all turned to look at one another in concern when Luke turned around and signaled to Dad to take Kuriko back to the dressing room so that she wouldn't be caught up in any of the fighting. Once the door was closed, we ran into the auditorium to see those in attendance about ready to get into a major fight with two of them already starting to engage in a round of fisticuffs while Ken was hiding behind the podium.

Luke turned and nodded to the rest of us and we all reached into our pockets to extract our compacts and buckle/phones and transformed. Blade ran forward and caught the fist that would have begun turning a wedding into an all-out battle.

"You see! There's proof that the Kitazawa Utonium is performing human experiments!" shouted one of my obasan-tachi and inciting many others to shout in agreement.

"Oh shut up, Obasan" I shouted in return and everyone fell silent.

"Nani is the matter with you people? Is your hatred so important to you that you have to go and destroy your mei's special day?" Bridgette shouted in angry askance; her katana-tachi drawn in case of a fight.

"Blade!" I heard my father shout as he came running into the room and approached Blade. "It's Kuriko; she's so upset that she just took off out the door running and crying. I'm scared that she may do something rash in her current state."

Ken came running up as soon as he heard this and said, "Let me help, Blade; maybe I can talk some sense into her."

"Then transform and let's go" Blade replied and Ken transformed into Brain.

We flew off and soon found Kuriko sitting under a shade tree and crying heavily. Touching down, I approached and wrapped my arms around her in a comforting and reassuring hug.

Once her crying subsided to quiet sobbing, I told her, "You have iie idea how scared we were that you were going to do something rash."

She made iie reply, but just continued sobbing into my shoulder quietly.

"Hai, well iie point in heading back; until those people can find a way to set aside their differences, they won't let the wedding take place" noted Bridgette as she kicked a pine cone and sent it rocketing into the nearby river.

"Bridgette-chan, you just gave me a wicked idea" Blade said as he took up his cell phone and called up the hall that we were renting for Kuriko's and Ken's wedding. "Hai, I'd like to speak with Akatsutsumi Kakiko and Hachizou, onegai; and tell them to bring the priest to the phone with them."

Blade then told them of his plan and, even though we all thought he was just awful for it, we also agreed with his plan wholeheartedly.

Hachizou's POV

As soon as we hung up after talking with Blade, Kakiko began faux crying upon my shoulder as the three of us re-entered the auditorium where the Preacher held up his hands to silence the room.

"It is with a heavy heart that I have been asked to be the bearer of sad news. Due to your arguing and fighting, the bride has taken her life by jumping off a bridge and into the river. Upon learning of the ill fate of his beloved, the groom followed and has also perished" the Preacher announced and Kakiko began crying even harder.

"I hope you can all understand if we don't invite all of you to the funeral" I added with bitterness.

The invited guests began quietly murmuring amongst themselves before rising and slowly leaving out the door with looks of sorrow upon their faces, though the three of us kept out backs to them as we refused to forgive them of their transgression. Once the others had left, we all turned to hear Akira crying heavily while the Professor was holding onto her, also crying.

Nodding my head to Kakiko, she walked over to them and said, "It's not fitting to be crying tears of sorrow at a wedding."

"Nani did you say?" Akira asked in disbelief when Kakiko shot her a smile.

"Onegai forgive us this one time as we have fabricated the truth to be rid of those who were fighting" the preacher then announced to the remaining friends and family members of those in the wedding procession.

Just then, without music or tradition, our children all began walking down the aisle in their Powerpuff Z forms soon followed by Ken and Kuriko, arm-in-arm, and smiling brightly to one another. We all ran up and embraced the lot of them, especially Ken and Kuriko as everyone had thought that they had truly been lost.

Momoko's POV

Once everyone had been given a chance to get cleaned up and we ladies had been given the opportunity to reapply our makeup, we began the ceremony in a much more appropriate manner. Needless to say, there was a lot of food and cake left over and we were all more than welcomed to take some home with us, though the top tier of the wedding cake was, of course, set aside for the new couple.

While sitting down together for dinner, the preacher inquired of us, "So nani exactly was the cause of all that fighting?"

Luke and I once again took it upon us to explain it all to him while enjoying watching Ken and Kuriko dancing together and the preacher was nodding his head in understanding.

"It does almost sound like human experimentation, but I'm sure there's a much better explanation behind the creation of the Powerpuffs Z" he replied and this time the Professor took up explaining the origins of the Powerpuffs Z.

"So by creating Kennainium He, Hiraga gave the Oedo Chakichaki Musume their powers as well as creating the box and seals that locked Kare's mind and body away from each other. But with the creation of Chemical Z, the Kennainium was broken up and its energies entered the original Powerpuff Girls Z while the remaining four parts were lost to time. By gaining them back, you were able to use it to lock Kare's mind away in a cold planetoid. But somewhere along the lines, two more parts were discovered to have been lost into the atmosphere and thus created that hurricane which almost destroyed the beach town that your children had been visiting on their summer vacation and those two parts entered Kuriko and Ken while all of the others were created by having Chemical Z poured upon them" the priest summarized to confirm his understanding of nani all he had just been told.

"Exactly, though it was slightly different in the cases of Luke, Isamu, and Ami" the Professor replied before telling of how they came about.

"Now that's a pretty farfetched story, but it also seems to be a veritable defiance against the way of the Great Kami" noted the priest.

"Which is why our father is still undergoing judgment; on the one hand it just as you said, but on the other hand, it's the result of his defiance that proved beneficial to the people who were being plagued by the evils that were befalling the town" Luke added honestly.

"To say little that our shimai is now a redeemer" added Ami with a yawn; it was getting a bit late.

"How do you know this?" inquired the priest in surprise.

"We've seen and spoken with her; her superior has a crush on her, too" Isamu answered and I could feel Luke almost bristle at hearing of this. "Don't worry, Luke; she's already warned him to behave himself or you'd do him a serious hurt when your time comes."

"Hopefully that won't be for many more years to come" I noted to Luke solemnly as the thought of losing him hurt.

"Both Heaven and Hell will have a battle on their hands to pull me away from your side, Momoko-chan" Luke told me and we shared a passionate kiss together.

"So where are you two planning on heading for your honeymoon?" Kaarii asked of Ken and Kuriko.

"Koibana Onsen; it's a spa for couples" Kuriko answered as she and Ken came over to sit with the rest of us.

"I've heard of it and it's said to be a really nice and clean place, though it's nani the couples do there that's dirty; gomen nasai, Reverend" Luke replied and apologized to the priest.

"Don't be, Luke-san; my wife and I went there back when we were still just dating. Though as I understand it now, the place is run by the daughters of the couple who used to run it" added the Reverend with a grin.

"Hai, well we'd best be leaving if we wish to get there before they close up for the night" Ken said and we all rose up to see them off, though with Kuriko passing her bouquet over to Miyako as she and Takaaki were next in line to be married.

Kuriko's POV

Waving sayonara to our families and friends, Ken and I soon settled back in the limo that was driving us to Koibana Onsen. The hard part was changing our clothes while in the limo, though more than once I had to swat Ken's hand away from me as he was anxious to get some of the fun started.

"Not yet, Ken; it's better that we wait until we get to the onsen so that we can have as much private time without chancing that the limo driver has a hidden camera" I calmly rebuked Ken the last time he tried to grab a hold of my thigh once we had finished changing into our kimono-tachi.

"Are you kidding, he could be fired for that" Ken said with an impatient look on his face.

"Actually, I have to have a camera back there for security purposes, but don't worry; we change the tapes and copy over them periodically unless they hold a cause for alarm to either our own or someone else's security" the driver then informed us and we both blushed as we had both been seen in our undergarments.

"I could have gone all night without hearing that" I grumbled.

"Like I said, as long as you two behave yourselves, the tape will be copied over" the driver then added with a light chuckle.

Fortunately we were soon pulling up to the onsen just as they were getting ready to close up and we were met by our hostesses with polite bows as they all said, "Welcome to Koibana Onsen."

"Domo arigato; gomen nasai for arriving so late, but there was a delay in the wedding ceremony" I replied with a bow of my own.

"Let me guess, one of you fainted while at the altar" said the eldest of the three young women in a teasing manner.

"Iie, it was a dispute between the two families so we had to kick the majority of our guests out before we could get back underway" Ken noted while wrapping an arm around me to give me a hug from the side.

"Ite, enough said there" the woman the said in reply.

"Come on, you two must be tired after such an ordeal; Moeka-chan here will show you to your room" the elder girl then said while indicating the youngest of the three as our escort.

We bowed in gratitude to them before following the one girl inside and to our room which was little more than a futon on an elevated platform with an o-furo built into the ground below the platform. The onsen itself was outside and surrounded by a high bamboo privacy fence.

Ken and I instantly undressed once we were in our room and made good use of the o-furo before making very good use of the futon.

As we were laying on the futon together after enjoying one another, I asked, "So, do you think we can try it in the onsen tomorrow?"

"Sounds like a great idea to me" Ken replied as he turned over and snuggled up behind me while wrapping his arms around me.

We went site seeing, dining, and dancing during the daytime and spent time either in the onsen, o-furo, or our futon in the evening. The days flew by and soon it was time to return home via cab service. We were warmly welcomed by our friends and family though we would learn that Ken's parents had moved out of the lab and into their own condo and thus leaving us in charge of the lab, though the Professor would still help out per diem. Kaarii and the others even threw us a house-warming party with cake, soda, and ice cream.

Later that night, after seeing our guests off, we settled down together in our home and went to sleep, with Peach sleeping in his doggy bed at the foot of the bed.

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><p><strong>Carly: Well, I sure am pleased to see that everything turned out alright in the end for those two.<strong>

**TCW: Of course, I couldn't let prejudices come between two people in love, now could I?**

**Carly: Good point. So nani is in store for the next chapter?**

**Next time…**

**Miyako: It's my turn to get married!**

**Takaaki: Only things aren't going to be as easy when visiting a medicine shop turns out to be a voodoo magic shop instead.**

**TCW: At the request of a friend, it's going to be a brief retelling of the story of the Princess and the Frog.**

**Carly: All this and much, much more coming soon!**

**Momoko: Meanwhile, be sure to leave us some really nice reviews, onegai!**

**Author's Note: Koibana Onsen and the aforementioned characters are taken from the manga, "Koibana Onsen", which I do not advise reading unless you are of an appropriate age group as some of the content is quite…explicit. Thus, as I'm sure you can already figure out, I do not own any of those characters either. Arigato. – The Cat Whispurrer **


	58. How to Marry a Frog

**Again, I thank all of you for the great reviews. For this chapter, however, I should point out a few things:**

**First, the character of Dr. Facilier and the two songs contained within are the sole property of the Disney Corporation and thus I do not own any part of them. **

**Second, I have gone out of my way to keep from being offensive to anyone, but if for some reason or another any of the content is still found to be as such, please note that this is NOT my intent and I deeply apologize if you are offended. Please feel free to contact me via an ****anonymous review**** as to what it is that offends you and I shall do my utmost to fix it. **

**Lastly, some of the later parts are suggestive, but hey, the main characters of this chapter are on their honeymoon, so a little suggestiveness should be forgiven; besides, I kept it clean enough to keep the 'Teen' rating.  
><strong>

**Now, without further ado, let's join our friends as they get ready to celebrate…**

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><p><strong>How to Marry a Frog<br>**

I was walking through the town trying to find a couple of corsages for me and Miyako-chan to wear in our wedding. Finally stopping into a florist's shop, I found the two I was looking for, both blue hydrangeas with sprigs of baby's breath intermingled within. I eagerly purchased the two corsages and took off running for home while feeling lighthearted that mine and Miyako-chan's big day was just a couple of days away.

While running home, I soon found myself in front of an old medicine shop that had its windows blackened and displayed a signboard in front reading, 'Natural Herbal Remedies! Can Cure Anything that Ails! Under New Management: Dr. Facilier'.

"Sounds like an interesting place, maybe I should tell Luke about it; he's always looking into herbal oils and the sort for using in his massage center" I noted aloud before continuing on my way only to be blocked by two dark-skinned men of maybe four feet in height and dress most peculiarly as one had a suit on which was red on the right side and black on the left while his companion wore a similar suit but its colors were reversed.

"Hey there, young man, those flowers look dandy!" one dwarf said.

"Maybe the help of our Master, Dr. Facilier, could prove to you handy?" the second dwarf posed.

"Iie arigato, I have to hurry and get to my bride" I said while trying to move through the two dwarfs.

"Ooh, you're getting married? What a blast!" the first dwarf said.

"Then seek our master's help. It will be fast!" the second dwarf said.

"Iie arigato and I mean it. I have to get back. Don't make my temper go all out of whack! Oh, snap, now I'm speaking in rhyme, too" I said as I face-palmed himself.

"Well, sir, we highly recommend that our master's help, you must seek!" the first dwarf said, as he started pushing Takaaki to the tent.

"You'll be his first client this week!" the second dwarf said.

"I said no, so please leave me alone! I need to get to my bride before she starts getting worried!" I said while trying to resist.

The two dwarfs then shoved me into the Natural Remedy store and where I ended up stumbling into a chair with a 'thud'. Another chair's back was facing me and then it spun around to reveal a tall, thin, dark-skinned man with a gap in his teeth, a tall hat, and a cane.

"Um... Dr. Facilier, is it?" I guessed, sweat dropping.

"Yes, that's me" Dr. Facilier said, and then he started getting into a song number.

_"You're here at my table  
>So put your mind at ease<br>If you relax it will enable me  
>To do anything I please"<em>

_"I can read your future  
>I can change it 'round some, too.<br>I look deep into your heart and soul  
>You have a soul, don't you, young man?"<em>

_"Make your wildest dreams come true!  
>I've got hoodoo, I've got voodoo,<br>I've got that I haven't even tried!  
>And I've got friends on the other side."<em>

I look behind me, nervously

(_"He's got friends on the other side"_)

_"The cards, the cards, the cards will tell.  
>The Past, the Present, and the Future as well<br>The cards, the cards, just take three_

I reluctantly take three tarot cards.

_"Take a little trip into your future with me~"_

_"Now, you young man, you were a kid so sickly  
>You were in the hospital until age 14<br>You met a girl one day  
>She saved you when you were insane<br>And now you are to marry her in just a few days"_

"Engaged to your first love, eh lover boy?"

"And nani is wrong with that?" I asked in rebuke.

_"Now you're going to get hitched  
>But hitching ties you down,<br>You just want to be free,  
>Hop from place to place-"<em>

"Iie, I don't."

_"That's what your heart desired in the hospital, right?  
>That freedom, takes health and green.<br>It's the green, it's the green, it's the green you need!  
>And when I looked into your future, it's the green that I see."<em>

"Iie, it's not."

_"Now, young sir, I won't waste your time  
>You've been with an ill heart most of your life<br>Hospitalized for seven years and then you turned into a monster  
>And that one young lady<br>She saved you with a bubble buster"_

"True, but she and I are in love!" I retorted.

_"But in the future, the you I see  
>Is exactly the man you never could be"<em>

"Wait... this isn't right!"

_"Shake my hand  
>Come on, boy won't you shake<br>A poor sinner's hand?"_

I shake my head 'iie', but Facilier grabs my wrist and forces me to shake.

_"Yes...  
>Are you ready?<em>

(_Are you ready?_)

Snakes appear and tie me to my chair.

_Are you ready?_

Facilier takes a talisman out of his pocket

_Transformation central!_

(_Transformation central)_

I begin to struggle against my serpentine restraints

_Reformation central_!

(_Reformation central)_

Again I struggle and this time try to reach my buckle/phone.

_Transmogrification central!_

He pierces my finger to draw blood into the Talisman and I scream in pain.

_Can you feel it?  
>You're changing, you're changing, you're changing alright!<em>

Green magic starts swirling around me and I begin to shrink in size.

_I hope you're satisfied!  
>But if you ain't, don't blame me!<br>You can blame my friends on the other side~!  
>You got what you wanted~!<br>But you lost what you had~!"_

The lights then went out, but when I finally got a good look at nani I became, I hollered, "Nani did you do to me!"

"Sorry, but you sound as though you have a frog in your throat" Dr. Facilier replied as he picked me up and cast me out the door and into the street.

"Great, now nani am I supposed to do? That, that…lousy so-and-so shrunk me somehow. Maybe I can get Luke and Kaarii to help me, but at my current size, it'll take me almost three hours to reach Kaarii's bakery…unless" I start to say when I reached down to take a hold of my buckle/phone only to realize that it, too, had vanished along with the rest of my clothes.

I look down at myself in deep concern when I notice my feet for the first time and I just stand there gawking at them in disbelief. I only had three toes and they were not only super long, but webbed.

I reached up to run a hand over my cheek as I said aloud, "This can't be happening to me."

It was then that I noticed my hands, I also had three fingers and they, too, were webbed, though not nearly as long as my toes. A fly began to buzz around my head, annoying me, and so without a thought, I opened my mouth, shot out my tongue, and snagged a hold of the fly and returned it to my mouth where I swallowed the insect much to my disgust.

"This can't be happening to me" I repeated in a whine and stood up to notice that my legs were now almost twice as long as my torso.

I then turned and looked into a broken, glass bottle at my reflection only to see a frog looking back at me and I fell back onto my o-shiri in surprise, startled at the image I saw before me.

Miyako's POV

I was pacing back and forth in my workshop, waiting and worrying as to where Taka-chan could possibly be as he was now about an hour late; he was never late unless he called me first to let me know that he would be. I heard the phone ring and ran to snatch it up in hopes of hearing Taka-chan's warm voice only to be greatly disappointed when it turned out to be a computerized recording of a sales pitch and so hung up.

I then snatched the phone back up and dialed Kaarii's bakery so as to inquire whether or not they had seen any sign of Takaaki that morning, but they hadn't. Hanging up, I then called Luke's massage center to inquire the same of him, but they weren't there; out to lunch according to the answering machine.

I then snatched up my keys, dashed out the door while pausing long enough to lock up the store, and took off for the lab on foot; Taka-chan was the only one with a driver's license as I had never learned. Upon arrival, I knocked on the door frantically when finally Kuriko came to the door with a slightly sour look on her face and a bathrobe on; I apologized to her for the disturbance.

Granting me entrance, she led me to the daidokoro where I told her of my problem and even she began to agree with me that this was highly unusual behavior for Takaaki. Ken soon joined us while straightening his tie and Kuriko then disappeared up the stairs to their room to change out of her bathrobe and into something much more appropriate; I had a hunch nani they had been up to, but I didn't want to think about it at the moment.

When Kuriko returned, she told us, "I've put a call in to Oniichan's office and both he and Oneechan are on their way over."

Takaaki's POV

"Maybe I can talk someone into helping me" I guessed as I glanced around myself and soon spotted a young woman heading my way.

Jumping in front of her, I held up my hands as I called out, "Gomen nasai, Okusama, but can you assist me?"

The woman screeched out in surprise before saying, "Yuck, a frog!" She then stepped around me and continued on her way.

"Hai, well same to you, fujin" I called over my shoulder to her.

With little other choice in the matter, I decided to hop my way to Kaarii's bakery while secretly hoping that she would help me instead of turning me into a delicacy. This proved a harder task than I had originally imagined as I had to avoid getting smashed under foot-traffic as well as vehicle-traffic.

Stumbling along while rubbing my o-shiri after getting it kicked by one pedestrian, I finally collapsed from exhaustion in front of Kaarii's bakery when I realized that my skin was getting abnormally dry.

"Of course, I'm a frog; we need to stay moist in order to survive" I realized and turned around to kick a stone in frustration only to wind up injuring my foot instead.

"Hey, look, it's a froggy!" I heard a voice exclaim and looked up to see Sherbet hovering over me.

"Hai, and it looks like it's on the verge of drying out. I'll go ask Kaarii-chan if she can help the poor creature" Clemintina said in reply as she entered the bakery to go and find Kaarii.

"Daijobu, girls, I know how much it means to you to help out any and all creatures" I then heard Kaarii say as she opened the door and, with an obvious shudder of disgust, picked me up and brought me into the bakery where she set me down in a sink full of lukewarm water where I began to feel a whole lot better.

"How are you feeling, froggy?" Sherbet inquired of me with a smile.

"I'd be doing a whole lot better if I could figure out how to get that Facilier baka to change me back into a human. There's iie way that Miyako-chan will want to marry me in this condition" I replied before breaking out into tears.

"Takaaki-kun…Kaarii-chan!" Sherbet called out in a panicky voice and both Kaarii and Josh came running.

"Nani is it, Sherbet-chan; nani is wrong?" inquired Josh as he came up and hugged Sherbet close.

"That's iie frog, Josh-kun; that's Takaaki-kun who's been changed into a frog!" Sherbet informed her and soon Kaarii, Josh, and Clemintina were gazing down into the water at me in suspicion.

"Are you sure, Sherbet-chan; he looks like an ordinary frog to me" Clemintina said in a placating manner.

I then signaled for Clemintina to come close and I whispered a secret into her ear and she blushed in surprise before flying up to whisper the same thing into Kaarii's ear.

"That's Takaaki-kun alright; only he would know something like that" Kaarii replied in surprise while also blushing.

"Nani does Takaaki know?" Inquired Josh in confusion.

"Something secret and personal about Miyako that none of us has any wish to discuss with you for Miyako's sake" Kaarii replied as she scooped me up into a glass pitcher along with a little water before heading out the door with me.

Miyako's POV

Luke and Momoko were helping me to call up some of our other friends on our cell phones when the lab's phone rang. Kuriko answered it and soon gasped with surprise as she turned to tell us some slightly good news.

"Kaarii and Josh are on their way here with Takaaki, but…you may wish to sit down for this one, Miyako-chan…he's been somehow turned into a frog" she told me after I sat down in a chair.

I just gave her an incredulous look before crossing my arms in annoyance and told her, "If that's your way of telling me that he's been out drinking instead of buying our corsages as he promised, then I'm having frog legs for dinner tonight!"

"I think you're over reacting a bit right now, Miyako-chan. But if your hunch proves true, I'll personally take pleasure in slicing him up for you" Luke replied in a gentle manner.

Soon Kaarii and Josh arrived and showed us the frog that they had inside of a glass pitcher and we all peered into the pitcher in disbelief.

"Do you mean to say that you really and truly believe that this disgusting little creature is my Taka-chan?" I asked of her while doing my best to resist the urge to slap her.

"I know it's hard to believe right now, Miyako-chan, but trust me; that is indeed Takaaki" Kaarii reassured me.

"Daijobu, fine, prove it then; prove it to me and prove it to them" I told her with hardness in my voice while indicating our surrounding friends.

"You don't really want me to say that out loud, do you" she inquired of me in concern.

"I…said…prove it" I replied through clenched teeth; everyone could see that anger I was feeling.

Kaarii let out an audible sound before she said, "Daijobu, it told Sherbet to tell me that you have a pink, heart-shaped birthmark on your right hip cheek."

I stood there looking at her in astonishment when I heard Momoko whisper, "If you blush any deeper, your facial cheeks are going to turn purple."

I pulled out a chair, crossed my arms upon the table beside the pitcher with the frog in it, and buried my face in the crook of my right elbow as I began crying my eyes out.

Momoko's POV

"Sherbet-chan, I need a great big favor from you" I heard Luke say to Sherbet who was now hiding behind Kaarii's hair in the event Miyako decided to behave hysterically.

"H-Hai, Luke-sama" she replied nervously but respectfully.

"I need you to act as translator for us. There are a couple of questions that I wish to ask Takaaki, but since I don't understand frog, I need you to tell us nani he is saying in response to my questions" Luke told her gently and she soon found her courage once again.

"Just let's remember to keep our cool and maintain our self-control so as not to frighten Sherbet-chan" I then reminded everyone while setting a comforting hand upon Miyako's shoulder.

Takaaki's POV

"Fire away, Luke-sempai; I'm ready to tell you everything. Just help Miyako to stop crying, onegai" I said after I heard nani he had in mind and Sherbet quickly told them nani I had said, though she used the honorific '-sama' instead of the '-sempai' I had used.

Once Miyako had stopped crying, I told them my story via Sherbet while watching my friends' reactions.

"You know, this reminds me of a movie that Chico and I saw before our parents' divorce called 'The Princess and the Frog'. Only problem between that movie and now is that we don't have a princess to kiss the frog to turn him back to normal" Kaarii informed the others.

"Don't look at me, I already made that mistake once in my life and I'm not doing it again" Momoko said in disgust.

"Nani was that?" we heard Luke then inquire of her heatedly.

"I was thirteen and desperate at the time, alright? I mean, how was I to know that it was really a frog that had been struck by Kare's black light and thus turned into a frog-prince; even his story said otherwise" Momoko confessed while setting her chin upon the table with a sad look in her eyes. "But then I met you and so there is iie way I'm ever pressing my lips to anyone's other than yours."

"You'd better not or I'll put you over my knee and really give you nani for" Luke replied and Momoko almost seemed to brighten at his threat.

"Well I'm not even going to attempt it" Kaarii informed the others.

Just then Kaoru and Rikiya arrived for a brief visit when Kaoru noticed me and walked over to look down into the pitcher at me while saying, "Aw, such a cute little frog; nani are you going to do with him?"

"That's not a frog, it's Takaaki" Sherbet informed her and both Kaoru and Rikiya had to do a double-take when they heard nani they had been told.

"Care to try again, Momoko-chan?" Kaoru then joked with a light chuckle of her own but she quickly silenced herself when Luke sent her a hard look. "Gomen nasai, I was out of line with that crack."

Just then, Miyako stood up, reached into the pitcher, and extracted me. Taking a deep breath, she puckered her lips and kissed me soundly on top of my head, despite the disgust she was feeling at doing so, but to iie avail; nothing happened. She sat back down, while still holding onto me, and broke out crying heavily again.

"Can someone onegai fill us in on nani has transpired?" requested Kaoru and so Momoko told her. "Here's a fun idea: Let us girls take Takaaki and Luke back to the shop where this Facilier baka is and force him into turning Takaaki back into a human. If he cooperates, great, otherwise, he gets turned into Oniichan's new scratching post."

"I like the way you think, Kaoru-chan" Kuriko said as she helped Miyako in placing me back into the pitcher before they all left with Luke in tow.

Miyako's POV

We arrived at the new Natural Remedy Shop and soon two dark-skinned dwarfs tried to block our way when I told them quite firmly, "I have business with Dr. Facilier, now move aside or my friend Kaoru here will move you for me."

Kaoru, who was standing just behind me, began cracking her knuckles in preparation for a fight when the two little men back away while holding their hands up in front of them in surrender while the rest of us continued inside where we found a tall, dark-skinned man moving around some various vials in an indifferent manner.

"May I help you ladies?" he inquired of us in an uninterested manner.

"Are you Dr. Facilier?" I asked of him politely.

"None other, my reputation must precede me" he replied with a bow.

"In more ways than you realize. You see, this is my fiancé Takaaki whom you turned into a frog for iie apparent reason and now I want you to change him back…or else" I told him quite firmly.

"Oh, I had my reasons, but they are none of your business. As for changing your friend back *chuckles deviously* no" Facilier replied with a firm push against my upper chest.

"Luke-kun, do me a favor, onegai?" I then asked of Luke who had caught me after Facilier had attempted to push me away.

"You have but to name it" Luke replied kindly while giving Facilier a dirty look.

"That baka just tried to knock me down" I told Luke while indicating Facilier.

"And just what do you think your friend here can do about it?" Facilier asked in a mocking tone.

Facilier soon had his answer as Luke now had him pinned against the back wall of the shop with two claws of his left hand locking Facilier's neck in place while slowly extracting the center one to just shy of the man's throat while fully releasing the claws of his right hand at a very close range for Facilier to get a really good look at them.

"First you go and turn one of my best buddies into a frog and then you go and accost his soon-to-be bride; give me one good reason not to turn you into a pin cushion" Luke asked with an audible growl in his voice that had Facilier sweating nervously.

"Because if you kill me, then your friend is going to be stuck as a frog forever and then the lovely little lady will have no other choice than to marry a frog; that'll make for strange bedfellows" Facilier then replied smartly.

A red light began glowing from a pendant that was around Facilier neck and so I approached to snatch the thing off of him when he yelled, "Hey, you little…"; he was interrupted in finishing his comment as Luke closed the distance between the man's throat and the tip of his center claw so that it was just starting to press into the man's flesh without breaking the skin.

"Oh, does this little bauble mean something to you?" I inquired before smashing it upon the floor only to be followed up by a puff of red and black smoke which quickly enveloped the frog in my hand to be almost immediately replaced by Takaaki now restored to being a human.

Many of the statues that we had earlier failed to notice soon came to life as they began singing in angry tones:

_"You've FAILED!" _

_(You've failed)_

"_You've FAILED.  
>You turned a groom into a frog!"<em>

_(Prince into a frog)_

"_But you totally failed!_

_(Totally failed)_

_And now you're going to pay the price!"_

They began to surround Luke and Facilier when Luke turned to them and in a heated tone, told them, "Don't tempt me into taking you all out too!"

"Foolish mortal, this does not pertain to you" said the larger of the strange creatures as it rose up from its place.

"Then take his powers, but leave him to live" Luke told the demon as he stepped away to let the smaller creatures attack and strip Facilier of his powers as per the agreement.

"No, no, anything but that; don't leave me powerless" begged Facilier of the statues as they returned to their places and fell into dust around us.

"Don't worry, where you're going, your powers wouldn't serve you well anyways" Luke told him in reproach when he turned us away to the exit and led us all back out the door.

"Luke-sempai, nani exactly did you mean when you said…" I didn't get to finish asking my question as the building behind us shuddered and crumbled to the ground as I gasped in amazement.

We all turned to look back at the building as a dark cloud rose up from the dust and shot off up into the sky like a black bolt of lightning. We all remained silent while turning to look up into Luke's face which held a serious expression that silently told us that we had not seen the last of the entities.

"Luke, nani were those things?" I inquired as we were walking home.

"I'm not too sure, but something tells me that they were but mere shadows of something far greater and much darker than that has yet to come" Luke replied with a sigh.

"Hey, look, two blue hydrangeas done up into corsages!" we heard Kaarii exclaim as she picked up the corsages that Takaaki had purchased before being turned into a frog.

Momoko's POV

A few days later and Miyako and Takaaki were happily married with her wearing a white dress with blue lace around the cuffs and neckline while very pale blue bubbles adorned the hem and a sky blue obi around her waist.

The wedding cake was white with miniature versions of the wedding dresses we had all worn in our own weddings, and the wedding dress that Kaarii was destined to be married in as well, all made of cake and modeling chocolate. Kaarii had even gone as far as creating sugar-glass bubbles to surround the bride and groom figurines that stood on top. Luke was requested to give away bride since, as with so many of the other girls, they considered him to be their oniisan with only Ami, Isamu, I not thinking of him as such since he literally was their oniisan and my husband.

Kaarii received the bouquet in her hands as she was the last one of us to be engaged and thus the last one to be married, though she looked both happy and nervous about the whole thing; we would later learn why.

Takaaki's POV

Miyako and I flew to Paris, France where we spent our honeymoon window shopping to get ideas for shop and design improvements by day and making out in our luxurious hotel room at night, and making sure to spend some time at the beach as well. Miyako had a tough time with understanding the concept that bathing suits were optional at the beach and, I must admit, this kind of bothered me too which is why we spent very little time there. But, when we did find a nice place to be alone, surrounded by sand dunes, I did manage to slip her out of her bikini for a little while. Soon after, we packed up and returned to our hotel room where we shared a hot shower, followed by a hot bath, before we headed off to bed where we enjoyed each other even more.

For our last night in our hotel room, we sat out on the balcony, her in a see-through, blue nightgown and nothing else, we blew bubbles into the night air, even throwing in a few of our favorite Shabon Freedom bubble tricks before we returned inside to slip between the sheets of our bed and snuggled up tightly together.

We left for the airport the next morning early enough, but we were detained by a few people who wished to have Miyako's autograph as they well knew of her designs and had even ordered some from off the internet directly from our shop. I just stood off to the side smiling at her with all the love in the world and even a few men approached to get my autograph since I was the 'lucky dog' to have Miyako as my beloved wife.

Upon our return home, we were warmly welcomed by our friends, with Momoko asking, "So how was Paris?"

"It was pretty, grand, romantic, a bit risqué, and in some places rather smoky, but otherwise, it was just perfect. But…not as perfect as it is here at home with our wonderful friends" Miyako answered while sharing hugs with the others.

"Un, who knew that they had beaches where people could run around in their birthday suits" I commented while blushing.

"Uh-oh, don't tell me you were tempted by other girls?" Kaarii asked of me in concern.

"Are you kidding; Miyako was the prettiest girl on that beach and even proved it to me when I got her out of her bikini" I replied while laughing heartily and even Miyako began blushing deeply while giggling.

Later, after seeing our friends off, we slipped up to the roof where we blew bubbles some more before returning inside to head off to bed as we could only look forward to the day when Kaarii's turn came.

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><p><strong>Carly: You were right; the end part was rather suggestive.<strong>

**TCW: Hai, but nani is a romantic scene without a little suggestiveness.**

**Carly: Good point. And I get the feeling that I know nani the next chapter is about!**

**TCW: Probably, but here's the preview anyways:**

**Next time…**

**Kaarii: It's mine and Josh's turn to get married, but I'm worried how my in-laws are going to feel about me when they learn of my past.**

**Momoko: Well, you can count on me and Luke to help wherever necessary to alleviate some of that concern.**

**TCW: All this and still a whole lot more to come, so stay tuned!**

**Carly and Momoko: Meanwhile, onegai, be sure to leave us some nice reviews while you wait!**

**Author's Note: The character of Dr. Facilier and the two italicized songs are borrowed from the Disney movie, "The Princess and the Frog", though you may have already guessed as such as I have left many strong clues (including naming the movie in the story itself) in the chapter.**

**Also, a lot of the content of this chapter was provided to me by Carly, so as much of the credit goes to her as it does me. And so I wish to end this with: Domo arigato for the great help, Carly-chan! – The Cat Whispurrer.**


	59. Criminal InLaw

**Arigato all for the great reviews! For this chapter, we not only complete the weddings, but we also complete Part 5. But right now, let's join Kaarii as she has figure out how to tell Josh's parents that she's to be their…**

* * *

><p><strong>Criminal In-Law<strong>

Kaarii's big day was just around the corner and we were all noticing that something about the whole thing was making her nervous to the point of distraction.

Luke and I were in their bakery early one morning to buy a couple of cinnamon rolls for breakfast when we noticed Kaarii quickly drift off in though, biting her thumbnail until Luke called out quite loudly, "Hey, gorgeous!"

"Hmm, nani, gomen nasai, did you say something?" she inquired of us as she returned to the present.

"Two cinnamon rolls to go, onegai" I requested when Clemintina came flying up to lead me over to the cash register while Sherbet was already packing up our order.

"Is there something wrong, Kaarii-chan?" I then heard Luke inquire in his brotherly manner.

"It's nothing, I'll handle it, Luke-kun" Kaarii replied as she came over to collect the money from me after Clemintina had rung up the order on the register.

"Daijobu, if you're sure. Have a good day, Kaarii-chan" Luke bid her as we left out the door to head off to work.

Kaarii's POV

'How could I tell Luke nani my worries really were? There's iie way he would ever understand my apprehension. I can't even confide in either Clemintina or Sherbet, let alone any of my friends or even Josh' I thought to myself when Josh came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist in an embrace.

"Our parents are coming in a couple of days; aren't you excited?" Josh asked of me sweetly in my ear.

"Hai, of course" I lied to him while forcing myself to smile as we shared a quick kiss.

I'm not so sure that I had managed to convince him, but he silently nodded his head while still smiling at me before retreating into the back of the house to get back to working on our wedding cake.

"Is something bothering you, Kaarii-chan?" Clemintina inquired of me, dropping her usual reference of me as 'Mom' and reverting back to my being her partner; calling me mom and Josh dad was something that she and Sherbet had agreed upon as we tended to more parental towards them instead of just being their partners.

"It's nothing I can't handle, so don't worry about it; so whatever happened to calling me Mom?" I asked of Clemintina with a smile.

"That's for when I'm not thinking of you as my partner" she replied with a sigh as she could tell I was being evasive as she flew back over to continue washing the glass front of the display cases along with Sherbet.

Kaoru soon stopped in to pick up an order that she had phoned in the previous evening, but again I was too distracted by my own thoughts to pay her any attention until she practically shouted, "Hey, Earth to Kaarii; WAKE UP!"

"Gomen nasai, I was distracted by something else" I apologized to her while she was waiting to pay for her order; neither Clemintina nor Sherbet could handle the money as they were too small and could only use their magic for baking purposes or to help either me or Josh.

I scanned her credit card through the card reader and soon her receipt printed out while Sherbet was being ever pleasant, asking, "So it all of this for you, your employees, or Akihiro?"

"For the employees; I'm trying to watch my figure and sweets aren't good for Orca tummies" Kaoru replied as she picked up her box of pastries and doughnuts and kissed Sherbet on top of her head before departing out the door.

Sherbet turned and beamed an excited smile up at me, but I was once again too lost in my own thoughts to pay any attention.

Later that night, while sitting up in my room while Josh was in the shower, I was pondering aloud, "Nani are Josh's parents going to say or feel when they find out their son is marrying an ex-criminal and of my past?"

"So that's nani is bothering you" I heard a small voice say as Clemintina entered my room with a facecloth robe wrapped around her and still a little wet from sharing a shower with Sherbet; though we were engaged, Josh and I still agreed to sleep in different rooms until after we were married.

"Onegai, don't tell anyone else" I begged of her and with an audible sigh, she agreed.

"I still think you should at least tell Luke; he is a lot like the oniisan you never had and I just know that he'd be able to come up with a solution to your problem" Clemintina said as she sat down upon her futon and picked up her wand, waved it, and dried her hair in an instant.

"I'll take it under advisement, but I assure you, I…" I started to say.

"'You can handle it'" she finished for me. "You've told that to all of your friends and customers today and let's face it, with the way you've been behaving today, none of them believe it but are still being polite enough to let it go."

"Don't smart-mouth, young lady" I told her in reproach.

"Gomen nasai, but if you don't start sharing some of this with someone other than me, you're going to worry yourself to an unhealthy level; I'm worried about you" she confessed to me.

"Daijobu, I tell you nani; if it starts getting to the point where I'm not being healthy, you let me know and I'll go seek some help, okay?" I asked of her though it pained me to make such an offer as I knew I really could handle it.

"Daijobu" she replied and cast off her robe to slip into her futon without bothering to dress; it was a warm night even with the windows open and the upstairs' A.C. was broken.

"I wonder if I can find someone to install some ceiling fans for us" I then commented as I lay back in my lingerie atop my futon and waving a hand fan to try and keep a little cool.

"It's something to think about and maybe it just might help distract you a bit" Clemintina commented as she kicked the sheets off of her as she was hot. "A cold shower and I'm still hot."

"Get your summer pajamas on" I then told her as I rose up and slid into my short sleeved pajama top and sleep shorts before slipping my feet into my slippers.

Despite the incredulous look she was shooting me, Clemintina followed suit and I picked her up as I headed out of my room and down to the bakery with a pillow under one arm; the air conditioner was working down in the bakery. When I arrived, I noticed Josh and Sherbet were already down there and asleep on the floor in the back, so Clemintina and I headed up to the front and slept on the floor behind the counter.

"I'm definitely calling up the A.C. repair place and demanding that they send someone over to fix the upstairs A.C. unit" I grumbled the next morning as Josh and I sat down at a table to enjoy our breakfast while I was massaging my stiff neck.

Just as I was reaching for the phone, it rang and it turned out to be the repairman who was up on the roof and calling in to report that he was installing the new parts that he had to order and that we should start feeling a little relief within the next ten to fifteen minutes.

Josh and I were dressed and ready to get the day started when the repairman had finished and I was asking of him, "So how much would it cost to have a whole new unit installed?"

"About ten million yen for an industrial unit that could handle both floors; fifteen million yen to replace both individual units; which you may have to do in a few years anyways as those are some pretty old units" the man informed us honestly as he left off for his next job.

"It's going to take us almost twice that long to bring in that kind of money" Josh commented and all four of us sighed in a bit of defeat.

"I wonder if we could get a loan to pay for it all" I then noted to Josh as we returned inside to begin setting the pastries up in the display cases.

"I'd just as soon not, you never know which bank is connected to some unsavory organization that deals in slaves" Josh noted to me and I shuddered at the thought.

"Do those types of banks really exist; I thought they were only in those disgusting adult animes" I noted to Josh in disbelief.

"I don't know, but maybe we should ask either Luke or Momoko; speaking of whom, they're at the door right now" Josh replied and I turned to nod my head to Clemintina as she was ready to unlock the door for them.

Sherbet flew over to land upon Luke's shoulder as Clemintina landed upon Momoko's shoulder as they entered, though I could tell by the look on Clemintina's face that she really wanted to let them know of my problem but was still remaining silent.

I turned and began to slice up a couple of apples for the apple pastries when I accidentally cut my finger with the knife. I reached over and turned on the cold water and began to wash the wound out, but it wouldn't stop bleeding.

Blade soon came back behind the counter and took my hand into his own and healed it using his trademark healing ability.

"That tears it; we made a promise that I would remain silent until it affected your health and now it's happened" Clemintina started shouted out but I clamped my hand over her mouth to keep her quiet.

"Daijobu, Kaarii-chan, enough is enough; talk to me" Blade demanded of me but I remained silent. "Do I have to pull rank on you?"

"We're not in our Powerpuff Z forms so you have iie jurisdiction here" I replied back firmly.

"Very well, be that way. Come on, Momoko-chan, we've got to get to the massage center" Blade said as he changed back into his street identity as he and Momoko turned to leave, but not before laying a coupon for a free massage upon the counter and wrote my name upon it.

I picked up the coupon, torn between using it or throwing it away as I read it, and with a firm resolve, threw the coupon away as I proclaimed in a whispered voice, "I can handle it."

Later that afternoon, we closed early and left for the airport to meet my mother, Chico, and both of Josh's parents. They all warmly greeted us and even Mom and Dad were civil to each other, though I could tell that Chico was suspicious of something in my regards.

"Are you okay, Oneechan?" Chico asked of me in concern.

"Hai, I'm just a bit excited and nervous about our big day this weekend" I lied with a forced smile, that Chico could see clear through, but had the decency not to push it any further.

We then all returned to the bakery where I noticed Josh's mother walking around and looking at things critically while Clemintina and Sherbet hid behind my long hair in concern; I could even feeling them shivering in nervousness.

"Such a nice and quaint shop you have here, Josh" she finally said with a smile.

"Arigato, Mom, but I couldn't have afforded it without Kaarii-chan's help" Josh replied while giving me half the credit.

"Indeed, and such a fine catch she is; it's a rare jewel that one finds when one chooses the woman he wishes to share the rest of his life with" Josh's father said as he set a hand upon my shoulder.

My parents and Chico remained silent while looking around the shop in amazement, though Mom brightened when she saw obaachan's recipe books sitting up on a high display shelf.

"Have you been putting your obaachan's recipe books to good use, Kaarii-chan?" inquired Mom as she was looking up at them.

"Hai, in fact, I recently came upon her recipe for gooey butter pastries, cookies, and cakes and have recently added them to our menu; they're a really big selling item" I told her happily; it was a recipe she had picked up while visiting St. Louis, MO back in the states.

"Speaking of baking, I can't help but notice you have two friends hiding in your hair" a strange voice said as a Sweets Spirit popped up from Josh's mother's pocket.

Everyone else turned to look at me in surprise as they had already been introduced to this newcomer; though Mom and Chico knew about Clemintina, but neither of them knew about Sherbet who was now shaking so in terror.

"It's alright, Sherbet-chan; you can come out, iie one is going to hurt you, I promise" Josh said as he came up behind me and extracted Sherbet from my ponytail.

"So, Sherbet has finally found herself a human partner who doesn't wish to kill her; will wonders never cease?" noted the new Sweets Spirit.

"So you know of Sherbet's past then" I noted to the Sweets Spirit in annoyance.

"It's a vivid tale of the first time a human was so dissatisfied with their Sweets Spirit that they would make the foolish attempt to kill their Spirit" the Sweets Spirit replied while shaking her head reproachfully.

"Now, Sherry, be polite; not everyone has such a happy past as you" Josh's mother rebuked her Sweets Spirit.

"Of course, my apologies Sherbet-chan; I didn't mean to offend" Sherry said with a humbled bow.

"Hai, well shall we head over to our hotel?" Mom inquired with a yawn and we all nodded our heads in understanding; she was suffering a bit of jet-lag.

Miyako arrived a little while later with my wedding gown and Josh's tuxedo; starting tomorrow morning, Josh and I weren't to see each other until we met again in front of the altar. I would be spending tomorrow night at my father's house while Josh would remain at the bakery. Of course, Mom and Chico were staying in a hotel room together, though they did spend time with me and Dad the day before the wedding; I was still doing my best to hide my apprehension from them, but I think Chico was catching on to the truth.

Clemintina also remained at my side, though she seemed to be almost uncomfortable being in the room with my family, as though she expected a bomb to go off between them at any moment. Her tension wasn't doing me any good either as I wished to keep her safe.

Josh's POV

Mom and Dad spent a lot of time visiting with me the next day to let me know how proud they were of me and to discuss Sherbet, "So, tell us about your Sweets Spirit, Josh."

"Well, we met while I was attending culinary school" I told Mom, not really knowing how comfortable Sherbet would be with me telling the story of her past experiences with human partners.

"Don't you want to regale us with the story of Sherbet's past, of how her previous partner tried to kill her, of how she's a crybaby klutz? Maybe a little cooking sherry would help loosen your stubborn tongue" Sherry said derisively and I could see Sherbet starting to tear up in humiliation.

"At least she doesn't get bombed on cooking liquors to the point where she crash lands in the buff onto the chest of a total stranger" I snapped back as I scooped Sherbet up into my hand and let her slip into my pocket while Sherry took on a sullen, abashed expression; she had done as such and landed upon my chest in the middle of the night when I was younger.

"Josh, you never told me that" Mom said in shock while looking down at Sherry in reproach.

"Gomen nasai, but with the way Sherry sounded off about my Sherbet-chan, I couldn't hold it back any longer. I hadn't told you, because I had wanted to spare Sherry her dignity, until now" I replied in a huff.

"Gomen nasai, I had forgotten about that day; gomen nasai, to you too, Sherbet-chan, I wasn't thinking clearly" Sherry apologized with a humble bow.

"Sherbet-chan, onegai, come out now; iie one is going to harm you" Dad begged of her and Sherbet slowly poked her head up over the top of my pocket before flying off and up to the top of one of the high freezers where she sat with her back to us and her little arms crossed.

Luke soon showed up to meet my parents as he was our team leader when he noticed Sherbet sitting up on top of the freezer and took notice of her demeanor.

"I think we hurt her feelings" Mom said while indicating Sherry who was standing upon her shoulder and looking completely ashamed of herself.

"You know, if you keep pouting like that, Sherbet-chan, you won't be a proper mood for the wedding tomorrow" Luke cautioned her lightly.

She turned and sent a look down towards Luke and flew down to give him a hug before flying up to sit upon his shoulder.

"One usual, Luke-sama?" she inquired of him and Luke shook his head 'iie'.

"I just stopped in to say 'konnichiwa' to Josh's folks" he said as he approached to sit down by her as she sat upon the table and, gently knocking her over, began tickling her until she was laughing delightfully.

"I'm surprise that someone so good with Sweets Spirits doesn't have one of his own" Mom remarked with a giggle.

"Actually, I'm a massage therapist, so iie Sweets Spirits for me; though I do get to play with Clemintina and Sherbet from time to time" Luke replied as he set Sherbet back up and adjusted her dress back into its proper appearance for her.

"Which reminds me, have you noticed something bothering Kaarii-chan lately?" I then inquired of him.

"Hai, but she keeps reassuring us that she has it all under control; I'm still worried about her. I even gave her a coupon for a free massage to see if that might help her to relax, but she hasn't stopped in once" Luke informed me with a concerned look on his face.

"Well, whatever it is, I just hope it doesn't interfere with the wedding; I'd hate for something to ruin our big day" I noted to Luke, also in concern.

"You know, I wonder if it has anything to do with her being concerned about our learning of her history" Mom guessed in a bit of concern.

"Then someone needs to tell her that her mother has already informed us and that we don't care about her past; it's her future present and future that we care about" Dad added, but unfortunately, neither of us would get the opportunity to tell her any of this until it was already too late.

Kaarii's POV

Up early the next morning, we ate breakfast together before I headed back up to the furoba with Mom accompanying me to help me get cleaned up. Once this was done, my hair dried and styled appropriately, we returned to my room where she helped me to get dressed.

"Oh my, this dress looks good enough to eat; your designer really has a flair for capturing the three dimensional appearance" Mom praised as we got our first look at the completed dress.

It was mostly white with brownie colored sleeve cuffs and nani appeared to be real waves of melted chocolate around the hem. The head piece looked like a chocolate frosted éclair with white icing swirls over the top. The lace piece that covered the upper chest was red velvet colored and had nani looked like little red heart-shaped candies adorning it decoratively while a red velvet-colored obi went around my waist. Once dressed, Mom then pulled out her makeup kit and proceeded to do my makeup for me, but not before covering my dress with a towel so that iie stray powders would land upon my dress. She then led me to the main sitting room where I was permitted to sit in a chair while Chico helped me to slip into my shoes which were also colored red velvet.

I was then permitted to remain sitting while everyone else continued getting dressed for the wedding. Dad was to give me away while Chico was to be maître d at the reception, though he would also be Mom's escort down the aisle. Meanwhile, as I was waiting for them, I got lost in my own thoughts again.

"Kaarii-chan, you need to relax or you're going to worry yourself into a frazzle and then you won't be able to pay attention during the reciting of your vows" Clemintina cautioned me in concern.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine" I reassured Clemintina with a gentle pat atop her head with a gloved hand; I was also wearing white gauntlets that each bore a swirl like that of a cinnamon roll on the backs.

Josh's POV

I was standing in the restroom of the hall which we were renting for the occasion and getting ready along with the other guys while Sherbet remained in the stall with me when I quietly commented to her, "I can't believe we had to bake our own wedding cake."

"Hai, but it's such a pretty cake with all of those edible photos of the cakes you and Kaarii-chan have made for all of your friends on the hexagonal middle tier" Sherbet commented in return while smiling up at me brightly.

I was attempting to tie my bowtie when I tied my own finger into the knot and I complained, "Finger's caught."

Sherbet pulled out her ice cream scoop wand and waved it to first untie my finger from the knot and then to tie the knot back appropriately for me as she said, "There, all nice and handsome!"

"Arigato, Sherbet-chan; I don't know nani I'd do without you" I commented to her in appreciation and she began crying again, though this time from happiness at being praised so highly.

"Josh, are you pinching Sherbet-chan again?" Luke called into the stall in jest.

"Iie, just paying her high compliments" I replied while giving Sherbet a hug.

"You'd better knock off them tears, Sherbet-chan, or you're going to look a mess for the procession" Rikiya cautioned her with a smile and Sherbet began to wash her face with some water to remove any trace of her having been crying.

Soon it was time to get things underway and I left to proceed down the aisle to wait at the altar with the Rabbi; leaving little Sherbet under Luke's supervision as I knew he would be very gentle with her.

Luke's POV

I turned in time to hear the girls arrive with Sherbet sitting upon my shoulder. Clemintina flew in the door first and waved her spoon wand to transform appearance into that of a boy before she and Sherbet increased their sizes so as to appear as five year old children and both came up to stand beside me as they were under my supervision until they were sent down the aisle at which point they would then be led over by me and Momoko to sit with Josh's parents.

"Daijobu, are you two ready?" I asked of them as I knelt down and placed a pillow into Clemintina's hands before making a small indentation in which to set the rings down in while Momoko passed Sherbet her basket of flower blossoms.

"Hai, Luke-sama, we're all set" Sherbet replied with a bright smile and I nodded my head to them before indicating for them to take their places at the head of the procession line with me and Momoko just behind them while Kaarii was anxiously waiting for her moment, or so we thought.

Once we were all waiting for Kaarii's debut, Chico came up and led Clemintina and Sherbet over to sit with Josh's parents before returning to sit beside his mother when the music changed over and both Kaarii and her father began their walk down the aisle, arm-in-arm, before passing Kaarii off to Josh and they joined hands before the altar.

However, when the Rabbi asked, "If there should be any amongst you who wishes to object to the unification of this man and this woman, let them speak now or forever hold their peace," Kaarii fainted.

There was a loud murmuring that rose up from those gathered and I jumped down to kneel at her side as Momoko told everyone else, "Move back, onegai; give Kaarii some room."

Kaarii's POV

I woke up in an empty hall and lying upon a table. I looked over to where I was feeling a slight breeze to see Momoko waving a fan over me before turning to look towards my other side where Luke was standing and smiling down at me.

"Welcome back, Kaarii-chan; you gave us all quite a scare" Luke said to me gently.

"Nani happened?" I asked of him as I slowly sat up.

"You fainted at the altar; are you alright, Kaarii-chan?" Momoko inquired of me quietly and I broke out crying; grateful that Mom had used water-proof mascara.

"It's time to talk to us, Kaarii-chan" Luke then told me while keeping his voice gentle.

"Gomen nasai, but I've been just so worried that if Josh's parents found out about my criminal history and of my having once dated a criminal that they would be strictly against our being married. I…just…can't take the thought of having…my heart broken again" I told them while sobbing heavily.

"I wish you'd spoken to us about it sooner" I then heard Josh's father say from the shadows of the room as he and Josh's mother entered the room along with my own parents.

"We don't care about your unfortunate past, Kaarii-chan; all we care about is how happy you're going to make our son by marrying him" his mother then said as they each came up to sit on either side of me and set comforting hands upon my shoulders.

"Not to mention that if you had said something sooner, I could have confessed that I had already been so greatly concerned for the same reason that I already spoke with them about it" Mom then added as she and dad knelt down in front of me.

"Let's get you cleaned up so we can try this again; you still have many guests waiting to witness your big moment" Momoko then said to me as she waved her hand towards the door and soon she, Mom, and my soon-to-be gibo led me to the oteari to get cleaned up.

Once done, Dad and I were granted to return back down the aisle where this time, I remained standing, confident and strong, all the way through, though I didn't want the kiss to end until Luke said in a low voice, "Save it for the honeymoon; we're starving."

We parted and then took off back down the aisle with our friends soon joining back up and also returning up the aisle to head over to the reception hall, though the wedding procession was momentarily led into another room to await our opportunity to me introduced at the reception.

Later that evening, after the opening dances and the cutting of the cake, I shared a dance with Luke where I told him, "Arigato for being such a good oniisan to me, Luke-kun."

"Domo arigato, just do us a favor and, next time there should be anything bothering you, don't hesitate to talk to us; we can't help you if we don't know nani is bothering you" Luke replied as we broke at the end of the song and bowed to each other politely.

"I promise you, Luke…Oniichan" I said in return, correcting myself in addressing him.

Come time to pass off the bouquet, since there was iie one else to pass it on to, I tossed it up into one of the ceiling fans where it was shredded into may parts to cover our invited guests with flower petals, though falling mostly upon our teammates. Josh and I then left for our apartment above the bakery as we would be leaving in the morning for Rome, Italy.

Josh's POV

While in Rome, we visited many of the famous sites, like the Pantheon, the Colosseum and Forum, the Vatican, the Sistine Chapel, the Fontana de Trevi, the Villa Borghese Gardens, and the Piazza Navona. But to me, the greatest highlight of the honeymoon, outside of learning some new recipes for some Italian pastries, was Kaarii herself; we left Sherbet and Clemintina in the care of Luke and Momoko. Watching Kaarii venture around the ruins of the Colosseum and Forum while wearing a pink sundress and sandals, I could just imagine myself having to fight off a bunch of gladiators who would be trying to get a piece of her only to taste defeat after I trashed the lot of them.

Up in our hotel room, that first night, when I saw her wearing only a towel, I yanked it off of her and carried her over to our bed while we smiled at each other and, after lying her upon our bed, enjoyed each other's company.

Whenever we went out, I paid little attention to the sites as the only site that really caught my eye was that of Kaarii enjoying herself, always while wearing sandals and a sundress, though occasionally wearing a sunhat. And at night, outside of making out on our balcony, the best part was being with her in our bed.

We even paid a visit to the beaches of Anzio where we also enjoyed some of the archeological sites, though to me the prettiest thing to see while there, was Kaarii in a bikini and she knew I was watching her closely.

We soon returned home with many photographs of our trip, though most of mine were focused on Kaarii as she indicated certain special sites. We were warmly welcomed home by our friends and Clemintina and Sherbet couldn't throw in enough hugs, happy that we had returned home safely.

Though, during the party our friends threw us, we couldn't help but notice that a few of our friends seemed to getting slight tummies and both Kaarii and I shot one another a wide smile as we knew that one day, Kaarii would get to be that way.

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><p><strong>Carly: Okay, so that completes all of the weddings.<strong>

**TCW: How right you are, but this also brings an end to Part 5.**

**Carly: So nani is in store for Part 6 and the next chapter?**

**Next time, in Part 6…**

**Momoko: 3**

**Kaoru: 3**

**Miyako: 3**

**Kuriko: 2**

**Ami: 3**

**Kaarii: 3**

**Isamu: 3**

**TCW: Nani is with all of the numbers; stay tuned to Part 6 to find out!**

**Carly and Momoko: Just be sure to leave us some nice reviews while you wait, onegai! **


	60. Part 6 & Time for Triplets

**Part 6: Baby Bumps**

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><p><strong>Arigato for the great reviews, friends and welcome to Part 6! As I'm sure by now you've come to realize nani this part is going to be all about, we'll get started with Momoko and Luke as they prepare for…<strong>

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><p><strong>Time for Triplets<strong>

Luke and I always maintained a strict exercise regime with either a morning jog or an evening stroll totaling a mile round-trip; weather permitting. On those days where it was raining, we would spend ten minutes on the treadmill followed by another ten minutes on the exercise bikes, always side-by-side. Other times, we would sit together out in our own personal sauna that we had built onto the onsen. And, of course, nightly either in the shower, bath, the futon in the onsen, or in our regular bed, we also enjoyed the most enjoyable routine cardio and muscular exercise available: sex; but let's not go into detail on that. So it was because of our great exercise routine that I was becoming ever more and more concerned when I started to put on some weight.

"Maybe your metabolism is slowing down" Luke proposed one morning when he found me, fresh out of the shower and not even my towel to cover myself with, crying while standing on the bathroom scale; I'd put on six pounds since the last time I weighed myself.

I just feebly nodded my head in acceptance of this and decided to try an extra ten minutes on the exercise bike since it was raining that morning. A few weeks later, and not only had my weight gain not improved, it had increased and nani was more, is now I was experiencing nausea and sometimes even vomiting in the morning.

Luke had just stepped out of the shower and saw me in the closet, throwing up into the benki when he came up to me and advised, "I think you should see your isha; something's not right."

"You may be right" I said as I flushed the toilet, washed my face and hands, and then went and brushed my teeth to remove the horrible taste from my mouth.

Using my car, Luke drove me to Isha-sensei's office where he sat holding me in his lap while I rested my head against his shoulder until we were summoned to an examination room; since that one episode where I barricaded myself in the exam room, Isha-sensei insisted that Luke always accompany me **(1)**. I was given a thorough examination and even had my stomach prodded and listened to when Isha-sensei finally asked me the one question that completely had both me and Luke floored.

"So, have you two been thinking of any names for your three little bundles of joy?" he inquired with a grin.

"Nani did you say?" I asked of him, uncertain as to whether or not I had heard him clearly.

He remained silent, though never lost his smile as he led us into another room along with one of his technicians and they set me up on a table, pulled up my shirt, and after spreading a lubricant upon my stomach, set the hand-held part of an ultrasound machine against my stomach until they found nani they were searching for and the doctor indicated three individual little heartbeats. Pointing them out and verifying nani it was we were looking at, he smiled again.

Luke tried to sit down in the chair behind him but missed entirely as he crashed to the floor but remained staring at the monitor of the ultrasound in total shock. The doctor and his technician helped Luke in standing back up before helping him to sit down in the chair properly before checking to make sure he was alright.

"I'm…fine…un…fine" Luke said in a flabbergasted voice.

"According to this, you're about six weeks along; which would also explain the morning sickness you've been feeling. But don't worry, with the proper diet and by avoiding certain circumstances or situations, you should be able to minimize the longevity of the nausea" Isha-sensei informed me gently while I continued to stare at the monitor in amazement.

"Luke, do you suppose that those three are..." I started to say but fell silent when I turned to look at him as he slowly nodded his head in agreement.

"Do you two have any questions that you may wish to ask?" Isha-sensei then inquired of us.

"Hai, can Luke and I, uh, still…you know…do it?" I then asked in uncertainty; it was always something I wanted to know when I was younger anyways.

"Every pregnancy has its own sets of variables as to how to answer that. However, in such situations as this, I wouldn't advise it any further than the startup of the second trimester just to be completely safe. Besides, you may even find it not only uncomfortable, but your desire to may even decrease, fluctuating during the stages of pregnancy" Isha-sensei explained before passing me a pamphlet answering many of my questions, including as to when I should begin attending a natural child-birthing class.

I was then allowed to get dressed and we were soon dismissed, though not before being referred to an ob/gyn. As we were leaving, Luke was calling up the ob/gyn's office to make me an appointment; they had an opening to see me the next day. Needless to say, when we got home, we not only read the pamphlet we had been given, but we also searched the internet for any and all information on the subject. We were so engrossed in our studies, with me sitting in the computer chair with him in another chair beside me, that when the phone rang, it startled us.

"Moshi-moshi" I said into the phone without checking the Caller I.D. to find my mother on the other line. "Hai, of course you can come over; you may even wish to bring Dad along with you as I've got something really big to share with the two of you. Daijobu, we'll see you then" I said after confirming that a two o'clock time frame would be appropriate for them to pay us a visit.

Luke warmly welcomed them when my parents arrived, though they sent me a questioning look when I came down the stairs while wearing one of Luke's shirts; Dad even asked, "Are we interrupting something?"

"Iie, I just felt like changing my shirt" I replied honestly; truth be told, my bra and shirts were starting to feel a little snug lately which was normal given my current circumstances.

"Oh, so anyways, the reason for our visit is that we're considering moving into a smaller home now that you and your imoto have moved out of the house" Mom confessed to us after I had retrieved refreshments for all of us.

"You may wish to rethink that, Mom" I replied a bit too quickly.

"Nani makes you say that; you two aren't fighting, are you?" Dad inquired, getting a bit angry.

"Iie, in fact we couldn't be any happier together; it's just that…well…Momoko, you tell them, I'm still trying to recover from the shock" Luke replied honestly while massaging the back of his neck.

Mom and Dad sent me a questioning look and, iie matter how hard I tried, I just could get the words out, so I just raised my shirt in front of them and their faces fell. Mom then let out a gasp of realization and jumped up to come over to hug and kiss me on the cheek with tears of joy streaming down her cheeks; to be an obaasan was one of her greatest dreams.

Dad began to happily clap Luke on the back when Luke held up three fingers which it was now my turn to mirror and he inquired, "3; nani about 3?"

Mom gasped in surprise as she clamped one hand over her mouth, began blindly searching for her chair, and, upon finding it, sat down as she quietly inquired, "You're having triplets?"

"Tri – triplets; are you serious?" Dad now asked and both Luke and I feebly nodded our heads in agreement.

Mom then reached up, grabbed a hold of my wrist, and sat me down in the chair beside her before turning and pouring four glasses of sparkling pink lemonade while inquiring, "Have you two begun thinking of names for them or even of where the nursery is going to be?"

"There's a room upstairs that's large enough for three cribs, 2 changing stations, and a bed for us to share; I think it was Miyako's old bedroom" Luke noted in reply.

"And then there's the back storage room that we can clean up and turn into a playroom for them when they get older" I added in and Luke extracted a small notebook to begin making a list of supplies we would need for the venture.

Once he finished making his notes, we all climbed the stairs to the upper floors to look over the two rooms with both Mom and Dad agreeing that the upstairs bedroom would be the optimal choice for the nursery; Dad even offered to help Luke in getting the room setup which we welcomed wholeheartedly as Mom was fussing at me to not be overexerting myself so as to keep the little ones inside of me healthy.

The next morning, while Luke was riding his exercise bike and I was watching television, Kuriko stopped in to pay us a visit.

"I hate these two new cartoons" I grumbled to Luke; hai, I still watch cartoons.

"Why; you loved them back in the States" Luke noted to me as he paused to wipe the perspiration from his face.

"Hai, but back then they made sense! I mean, mild-mannered reporter, Clark Kent becomes Superman whenever there's trouble. But now, according to the pathetic dubbing they did on this, mild-mannered reporter Superman becomes Superman whenever there's trouble. And where billionaire Bruce Wayne became Batman at night; now it's billionaire Batman becomes Batman at night; I mean, how stupid can you get? The network must have hired those baka-tachi at Ocean Group to do the dubbing **(2)**" I explained to Luke and he just smiled before leaning down to kiss me on the cheek.

"Don't get yourself frazzled over little stuff like this; remember, you need to stay calm and happy for the babies' sakes" Luke kindly reprimanded me and, with a sigh, I nodded my head in acceptance when there was a knock on the door.

"You're right, Luke-chan; I'll go see who's at the door" I replied as I kissed him back before waving him off to go take a shower.

"Ohayo, Oneechan! Mom told me the exciting news; omedeto!" Kuriko greeted as she gave me a hug once I had opened the door.

"Arigato, Kuriko-chan; so nani brings you here at this time of the morning?" I inquired as I granted her entrance before leading her to the daidokoro for a glass of iced tea.

"Mom said that you needed to keep from overexerting yourself, so I was wondering if there was anything that I could do to help out. I already checked with Ken and even he encouraged me to offer some help" Kuriko explained as we sat down together.

"Hey, kawaii-sa, nani brings you to our humble home?" Luke inquired of Kuriko sweetly once he returned to the daidokoro after getting cleaned up and changing into his work clothes.

"Konnichiwa, Oniichan; I'm here to offer whatever help I can to make sure Oneechan doesn't overexert herself and thus risk harming the babies" Kuriko replied as Luke came over and gave me another kiss on the cheek.

I quietly reached for the television remote to click it off when Kuriko sent it a wry look as she inquired, "Don't tell me you actually like those stupid new cartoons?"

"I liked their Ei-go versions, but those new dubbings are just atrocious, but right now, let's move on to different things. Most I can really think of for you to do at this point would be helping me to get the top floor cleaned up" I informed Kuriko and she still seemed quite eager to help.

"Hai, well if you're still feeling up to it, Momoko-chan; I'm heading off to work and I could still use an office assistant" Luke offered and I nodded my head in agreement when Kuriko jumped up out of her seat.

"Onegai, I'd like to come, too, so as to help out Oneechan; I can clean the rooms while she remains in the office" Kuriko offered with a humble bow to us and we thought this was a good idea.

Off and on during the day, Luke would stop in to give me either a shoulder or foot and leg massage so as to help me feel a little better from my own stiff muscles while Kuriko was diligently running back and forth between cleaning the rooms and tending the laundry.

We broke for lunch and we gave pause to notice how happy, yet tired, Kuriko was with being able to help out when Luke inquired, "So how many more appointments do we have today?"

"Only two; our last two called in to report that they wouldn't be able to make it due to unforeseen circumstances" I reported to Luke just as Kuriko came back into the room to sit down and finished her lunch when the dryer sounded again to let her know the last load of linens was ready to be folded and put away. "She deserves a good massage for all of her hard work…on the house."

"I think you're right" Luke replied with a smile just as our next appointment arrived.

Later that afternoon, once our last appointment had left; Luke and I were sitting in the office waiting for Kuriko to finish cleaning up. As soon as she was done and had entered the office we left back for home, though we both took Kuriko by her wrists and led her to the onsen in the backyard.

"Why are we in here?" Kuriko asked as she looked around while we were removing our shoes in the genkan.

"Come with me" I told her as I waved for her to follow me into the furoba where I then blocked the doorway once she entered. "Take your clothes off, and I mean all of them."

Kuriko blushed deeply but as she knew there was iie escape, she did as I told her and I pointed over to the shower where she started to wash up. Once she was done, I then indicated the o-furo and she climbed into the hot water; I then added in some bath salts and essential oils and she was soon relaxing.

Luke came up behind me after a while and began whispering into my ear when I whispered back before walking over to Kuriko, helped her up out of the water, and then began thoroughly drying her off. She started to reach for her clothes to get dressed when I gently swatted her hand away before pointing to the doorway.

"But Oneechan, I can't go out there naked; Oniichan will see me!" Kuriko protested while rubbing the back of her hand that I had swatted.

"So nani; he's seen enough of you before; besides, you of all people know that you can't receive a proper massage when you're dressed" I told her as I took a hold of her hand and led her to where Luke was waiting for us, leaning against the massage couch.

"Is the patient ready?" Luke inquired without opening his eyes as he was in a slight stasis of meditation.

"Hai, though she's a little apprehensive" I replied as I indicated for Kuriko to lie down on the massage couch and soon covered her chest and lower regions with a couple of towels.

Luke made sure to take his time giving Kuriko her massage and she was just about asleep when he had finished.

"You know, one of these days, you're going to have to teach Ken how to perform the pleasurable and 'other' massage for Kuriko's benefit" I commented quietly to Luke.

"You mean so that I can become pregnant, too? Actually, that might not be such a bad idea after all" Kuriko commented in return and we all shared a chuckle over it.

Soon after, Kuriko headed home while Luke and I headed towards the house to eat dinner. Afterwards, Luke helped me in getting cleaned up before we headed off to bed.

Time passed on and now I was feeling like I was almost as big as a compact car, though I still managed to prove myself capable of getting along with minimal help until one day when the Powerpuffs Z were summoned to fight Fuzzy Lumpkins.

My uniform, fortunately, adjusted to my pregnant form and we were all soon flying off towards City Hall to stop Fuzzy from tearing up the place in his everlasting pursuit of Mayor Bellum; Mayor Mayer had retired and was now living in a retirement community. Of course, when we all stopped to take up our group stance, everyone noticed that I just stood off to the side, holding my stomach in pain while clamping my other hand over my mouth; one of the babies belted me in the stomach.

"You don't look so good, da-monda" Fuzzy told me in a jeering voice.

"You try carrying three kids inside of you and using your stomach as a punching bag and see how you feel?" I replied back in a groan.

"You shouldn't be out fighting then, Blossom-chan" Mayor Bellum told me as she came up to take hold of me by the arm and led me over to a couch so that I could sit down.

"Gomen nasai, but I can't help it if I still wish to help out" I replied as I began tearing up for some unknown reason.

Just then we heard a loud thud followed by Buttercup saying while she stood over Fuzzy's unconscious form, "You'd best take her home, Blade-sempai; I think we can handle Fuzzy from here."

"You're not exactly doing so well yourself, Buttercup-chan" Blast lectured her as he came up to place a hand over her gradually swelling belly.

"Hai, I know, and I'll gladly step out when and if I get too big to remain on my own two feet" Buttercup confessed while Blast and Baron hefted Fuzzy up to carry him back to his forest home.

The rest of us were flying back to the lab to report in, though I was having quite a time of it as I noticed that I was flying much slower than normal…and seemed to losing altitude. My powers cut out and I screamed out as I began plummeting down towards the ground when Blade came flying up and caught me up in his arms so as to help me land on the ground without injury.

As soon as we had landed, I unintentionally wet myself and I sat down in a huff as I began crying quite heavily in defeat. Blade sat on the ground beside me while hugging me and brought one hand up to take hold of and leaned my head down to allow me to cry into his shoulder. Many passersby sent us a concerned look, but Blade waved them on until a police officer showed up to offer his assistance.

"Iie, arigato but we're just experiencing some emotional sensitivity" Blade explained and the officer nodded his head in understanding before climbing back onto his bicycle and riding off.

Once I had managed to pull myself together, we rose back up and walked home. Luke later phoned in and told the others nani had happened and they were all quite understanding. I gave up being a Powerpuff Girl after that and gave my power belt over to Luke to put away until after I was back to normal and able to fight again.

A few days later, I was out doing some shopping at the grocery store. I had just finished and was returning to my car when I spotted, of all people, the Gang Green Gang sitting on my car.

"Would you onegai get away from my car; I'd like to go home" I told them quite firmly.

"Hey, check it out, Billy; there really is someone fatter than you" jeered Ace as he and his companions began laughing derisively in my face.

"I'm not fat; I'm pregnant! Not get off of my car or else!" I shouted in anger as I could feel my face reddening.

"Or else nani; you going to sit on us or something?" Ace inquired in a mocking tone as he and his friends once again burst out laughing; I really wish I had my sword at this point, but its belt wouldn't fit around my waist anymore.

I reached into my purse and extracted my phone and called up a friend's shop who wasn't that far away, "Konnichiwa, Kaarii-chan, do you and Josh have a couple of minutes; I've got five pains in the o-shiri-tachi sitting on my car and they won't get off…Onegai and arigato!"

Three minutes later and both Bridgette and Bash showed up to offer their assistance in getting rid of the Gang Green Gang. Fortunately, when they showed up, Ace and his gang quickly vacated the premises so that I could set the groceries into the back seat, unaware that I had a small stowaway hiding in the bag full of ice cream.

I drove home afterwards, with an appreciative wave to Bridgette and Bash, and upon arrival, I set my keys upon Luke's key hook as I was getting too large to even fit behind the steering wheel. Releasing a sigh, I head back over to the grocery bags and started to reach for the ice cream when I detected some movement inside the bag. Cautiously, I peered into the bag to see little Sherbet fluttering around the ice cream cartons and waving her ice cream scoop which was releasing a freezing cold wind upon the cartons.

"Sherbet-chan, nani are you doing here; Josh and Kaarii are going to be worried to a frazzle once they realize you're missing" I told her once she popped her head up out of the bag.

"Gomen nasai, but your ice cream was beginning to melt when Mom and Dad arrived to save you from those green men" Sherbet replied while I began unpacking the ice cream and storing it into the freezer.

"Well, as soon as get all of these put away, we're calling up your parents to let them know where you are" I told Sherbet as she landed and sat down upon my shoulder.

"Okay" she replied happily while watching me put away the last two cartons of ice cream.

I then turned to the phone and put a call in to Kaarii's bakery where Kaarii answered the phone in a panicky voice, "Momoko-chan; have you seen little Sherbet; she's gone missing!"

"Hai, she decided to tag along with me to help keep my ice cream from melting" I replied in a gentle voice so as to calm her down. "And nani is more, I gave up my car keys until after I have my little ones; I can't comfortably fit behind the steering wheel anymore."

"Daijobu, we're on our way over" Kaarii told me and both Sherbet and I sat down to enjoy one of the pint-sized cartons of chocolate ice cream.

Having already told Kaarii that the front door would be unlocked, she and Josh soon arrived and while hugging Sherbet in relief, I couldn't help but notice Josh pull out a wooden sample spoon as he reached for Sherbet's underpants.

"You are not spanking her" I told Josh firmly as I snatched the spoon away from him. "I've been craving chocolate ice cream for the last couple of days and, just when I'm able to get out and go shopping, it all could have melted because of those Gang Green Gang baka-tachi. Sherbet-chan realized the danger my ice cream was in and kept it all from melting which would have resulted in me having a crying fit and I've already had too many of those!"

"Easy, Momoko-chan; she still could have told us" Kaarii said in a placating manner while Sherbet flew up to hide in my hair.

"I couldn't; you were too busy fighting and Momoko-san's ice cream was already too endangered of melting" Sherbet said in a muffled voice that I could hear as she was hiding between my neck, hair, and the collar of my shirt so as to keep from being spanked.

Luke soon arrived home and, after overhearing nani had all taken place, he came into the kitchen, scooped Sherbet up from within my collar, and thanked her immensely for putting herself at risk to keep my ice cream safe. Fortunately, Kaarii and Josh quickly forgave Sherbet, but still gave her a firm warning that they would carry through the next time she tried something like that and she understood their intentions.

The next day, Luke came home abnormally late in the evening, tired, but I paid little attention until later on when he was telling me how much of a help Kuriko was being in the office. It was a repeat performance the next night, but he was a few more minutes later than the previous night, and my jealous side was beginning to take control of me.

I was sitting up in the living room when Luke arrived home even later and I fussed, "So how are you and Kuriko getting along?"

"Just fine, she's a great assistant" Luke commented while sending me a curious look.

"She must be more than fine nani with the way you've been coming home later and later recently!" I all but yelled at him.

"Nani are you talking about?" Luke asked in confusion.

"Oh, come on; be honest with me! You two are having an affair in the office aren't you?" I shouted at him.

"NANI; that's the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard! You're the only girl I have feelings for and you know that" he replied with almost a chuckle of disbelief.

"Daijobu, fine; prove to me that you aren't using her for a source of release while I'm home bound!" I said firmly just as the phone began ringing. I picked it up and heatedly said into it, "Moshi-moshi."

"Uh, when you're feeling better, would be so kind as to tell Luke that he left his jacket here at the lab? He's been teaching Ken and me how to give massages to one another while using some special massage dolls and it's been really great; I can't wait until we're done so as to practice on one another instead of using the dolls" Kuriko told me and I felt my shoulders slack down as I realized how stupid I was.

"Of course, arigato Kuriko-chan; I'll let him know" I replied quietly before hanging up the phone and soon after, buried my face into my hands as I began sobbing heavily out of embarrassment and shame.

"Kuriko may be a great help while you're out, but you and you alone are the girl I care about wholeheartedly; I'd be a baka to cheat on you" Luke said as he came up behind me and wrapped his arms around me in a hug while resting his cheek against the back of my head.

"Gomen nasai, I don't know why I got so jealous like that; I should know better" I replied between sobs.

He turned me around and lifted my chin with his hand and smiled down at me brightly while wiping the tears from my cheeks with his thumbs as he said, "Because you're feeling a little insecure and vain about your appearance due to your being pregnant. It's alright; I understand why you feel that way, but I didn't marry you for your looks alone, I married you because of how much I love the person you are. It matters not nani someone looks like on the outside; it's nani is on the inside that counts."

I embraced him as best as I could given my large stomach and we shared a kiss before heading off to bed together; though lately, I've been sleeping in a recliner as lying down in bed was getting very uncomfortable.

A few months later and I went into labor; unfortunately, Luke wasn't home at the time so I had to call the ambulance to come get me. While in transit to the hospital, I called up Luke on the phone to let him know where we were going and he said that he meet me at Tokyo General as soon as possible.

The nurses wanted to put in an I.V. to help keep me from dehydrating, but I firmly told them 'iie' as I hate needles. Luke soon arrived and they told him nani they wanted to do and he came over to sit down beside me and whispered sweets words into my ear while Ami entered the room to put the I.V. in my arm; I barely felt a thing and she was done before I knew it.

"I've put in a call to your obstetrician and she's on her way over, Momoko-chan; meanwhile, is there anything I can get for you?" Ami informed me while noting my vitals on the monitor I had been hooked up to.

"Can you call my parents and let them know; they want to be here for the birthing" I told her quietly as I was permitted to lie back against the bed once the head had been elevated to a comfortable level.

"Sure, I'll call them in a couple of minutes. Just one more question: Did you want to have a natural childbirth or did you want some pain medicine?" she then inquired of me and I swallowed hard; I hadn't thought of this part of the routine.

"I want to try this the natural way" I replied nervously, aware that I was asking for a heap of pain; for giving birth to one child, this was recommended, but for multiple childbirths, it was usually recommended that one use painkillers to aid in the birthing process.

Ami noted this in my chart and soon left out the door and hung the clipboard she had been writing her notes upon on the hook on the door before heading off to call my parents for me. Mom, Dad, and my obstetrician soon arrived and, after she read over the notes Ami had made upon my chart, the obstetrician sat down at the foot of the bed I was resting up to examine me.

"You do know that with multiple childbirths that it is highly recommended to use painkillers, right?" the isha inquired of me in concern.

"Hai, but I don't want to take the chance of it affecting either of the children" I replied and she nodded her head in understanding before standing up and soon left the room after disposing of her gloves.

"Just as a reminder, from the time the water breaks to the first real contraction can take anywhere from a couple of hours to a couple of days" Ami informed us helpfully, but all I could do was to shoot her a disdainful look; did I really need to hear that?

"So have the two of you been thinking of naming the little ones?" Mom then asked as she came up to stand behind me and kissed me on the cheek.

"Hai, we've decided on Anzu, Akahana, and Suzuko" I replied apprehensively as I really wanted to have the three of them out of me and in my arms.

"Nani if one of them is a boy?" Dad asked in confusion as we had selected all girls' names.

"We're 99% positive that they're all girls, Dad" I replied while Luke was massaging my shoulders to ease the tension I was feeling at the moment.

"Hai, I remember you telling me that story now" Mom replied before sharing it with Dad and even he nodded his head in understanding.

"From your imoto-tachi to your musume-tachi; that must really be something to look forward to" Dad commented gently just as the first contraction hit and I virtually doubled-up from the pain.

Luke reached out and pressed the call button to the nurses' station and told them nani was happening when Ami replied back, "We're paging the isha now and I'm on my way."

Ami arrived almost as soon as she hung up the phone and was now kneeling down in front of me while coaching me in my breathing; the first one was out by the time the obstetrician showed up.

"Good job, Ami-chan; I'll take over from here" she praised Ami before sending her over to start cleaning the first baby, a little girl, up.

As much as I wanted to see my first little girl, the contractions persisted and soon I was giving birth to our second daughter. The last one, however, proved to be the most difficult as she seemed to be climbing back up inside of me every time I stopped for a brief rest.

"That one must like the warmth" I heard my father say quietly in jest.

"Come on, koibito, Mama wants you in her arms, not her tummy" I whined in protest as I was once again encouraged to bear down and push and she finally came out just as I lost all strength and collapsed back against the bed.

I awoke a couple of hours later in another room and off to the side gazing into the basinets were my loving family members.

"How are they?" I weakly inquired as Luke turned around to notice that I was awake.

"They're gorgeous, just like their mother" Mom commented with a warm smile.

"Why does she keep groping my chest like that?" I then heard Kuriko ask while holding onto one of the girls.

"Because she's hungry and she already knows where the food is supposed to be" Mom replied with a light chuckle.

Feeling stronger, I sat up and held my arms out to take hold of my little girl just as Kuriko stood up and approached to pass her over to me.

"Would you like for me to step out of the room?" Dad asked of me but I didn't answer him as I undid my hospital gown and let the top slip down to bare my chest so as to let the little one hook up and she was soon nursing from me quite hungrily.

"Such a strange sensation; eat up little one, you have two more shimai-tachi who are eagerly waiting their turn" I murmured to the little girl in my arms, smiling, and reached up to wipe couple of tears from my eyes.

"You know, since you have two little girls still to feed, you could always allow both of them to feed at once" Ami offered me and I look up at her in surprise as she indicated that Mom follow her as they both stood up and brought over the other two as I passed the one off to Luke to be burped.

With some help from Ami, I soon had the other two hooked up and nursing from me simultaneously while I smiled down at the two precious faces that were feeding hungrily from me. Soon, one had finished and Luke came over to take her from me, but the other one had not only stopped feeding, but remained hooked up to me and was asleep. The first born we named Akahana; the second we named Anzu; and the last one we named Suzuko. Luke and I were permitted to take the trio home after the first couple of weeks and we all moved into the nursery where Luke and I took turns taking care of them, though at feeding time, it was primarily just me feeding them as they refused to take a bottle while Luke did remain at the standby to take them as I finished with them and changed their little omutsu*****-tachi.

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><p><strong>Carly: Well, it sounds like they've got their hands full for a while.<strong>

**TCW: And soon they won't be the only ones.**

**Carly: Sounds like another exciting chapter is coming up next!**

**Next time…**

**Kaoru: I always knew there was just cause to be leery of that giant pearl.**

**Rikiya: Are you and Akihiro feeling alright; you look a bit…different.**

**TCW: Find out nani happens in the next chapter!**

**Momoko, Carly, and Luke (each with a baby in arm): Meanwhile be sure to leave us some nice reviews, onegai.**

**Authors Note: You've probably noticed the two numbers in parenthesis located in the storyline. These are footnotes and apply as follows:**

**(1) For those of you who don't remember, refer back to Chapter 28: Himeko's Return for further details.**

**(2) This is just a small rant on my part about the stupidity of Ocean Group's dubbing job on the PPGZ series so as to help everyone understand my major objection to the bad job they did. Gomen nasai, for this, but I wanted to get this off my chest.**

*** omutsu - diaper**

**- The Cat Whispurrer  
><strong>


	61. Little Mermaids

**Arigato for the reviews, friends! For this chapter we will be primarily joining Kaoru and Rikiya as she's about to give birth to…**

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><p><strong>Little Mermaids<strong>

As time was moving on for me, I knew that it wouldn't be long until I'd have to give up swimming with Akihiro and 'beach' myself in mine and Rikiya's condo. I was playing with Akihiro as part of the floorshow featuring me as a mermaid and Akihiro as an orphaned orca in need of a friend with many spectators watching, including Rikiya, when I noticed many people seemed to be turning around and talking with him; probably because I was starting to get a bit round and my mermaid costume was getting tight.

The show came to an end and I began giving Akihiro a tummy rub as a form of praise when the giant clam opened its maw again to reveal the giant pearl within, only this time a beam of energy shot out and enveloped both me and Akihiro. When the light cut out, the clam closed up, and I was left hovering in the water looking at it in confusion.

Turning to look at Akihiro to make sure he was alright, I had to surface and rub my eyes before taking a second look as he was now four times larger than normal and his colorations had reversed, but seemed otherwise iie worse for wear. Soon, I noticed the bottom part of my mermaid costume float past me and I quickly began checking my surroundings out of embarrassment when I noticed something about me had also changed.

"Holy catfish, I've been turned into a real mermaid!" I exclaimed as I raised my tail to have a closer look at nani had been my feet. "I've got to get Rikiya over here!"

I swam over to the platform and pulled myself up out of the water so as to take hold of my cell phone and began to call Rikiya's phone just as he entered the room and exclaimed, "Kaoru-chan, are you alright?"

"Rikiya, I'm scared; nani if something has happened to our babies?" I told him as I began tearing up.

"Just tell me nani happened" he told me gently, though I could tell that even he was concerned.

"You need not be afraid" a strange voice then said and both Rikiya and I turned to look out into the pool to see a woman standing atop the water and smiling.

"Two questions: who are you and how are you doing that?" I then asked of her in amazement.

"I have a better question. Are you the one responsible for changing my wife into a mermaid and, if so, can you change her back?" Rikiya then asked in a heated tone.

"So many questions, but all are understandable. I am Aqua Regina, one time queen of the Mermaid Kingdom until its fall, but more on that later. As for being the one who turned your wife into a mermaid, hai. I transferred much of my own powers into your wife so that she and your future offspring may help rebuild the Mermaid Kingdom, but that, too, must wait for another point in time. Now, as for changing her back, gomen nasai, but nani she is now is nani she shall forever remain, though as with all Mermaids, once dry, they take on a human form" she answered us while indicating the fact that my lower regions reverted back to normal when I quickly remembered nani happened earlier.

"Tell me it's just the two of us in here" I pleaded of Rikiya when he glanced down to notice my accident and quickly nodded his head while smiling at me.

"Are our little ones safe?" Rikiya then asked of the woman in concern.

"Hai, they are just fine, and they shall also have the ability to become human, but right now my time is coming to an end; I shall remain within the pearl if you should have any further questions" she replied and her image began to fade away.

"Wait, will I still be able to remain as a Powerpuff Girl?" I called after her, but she had already disappeared.

"Hai" she replied, though only her voice could be heard, as though it were fading away.

"Wait until Luke and my isha hear about this" I then commented as I stood up and hastily retreated into the changing room.

"I think it would be better if we kept this little secret to ourselves" Rikiya then noted to me as I stepped out of the changing room, now in shorts, a sleeveless half-shirt, and sneakers, though I didn't wear any socks.

"Why's that?" I asked of him in curiosity.

"Well, I remember this anime once where, if any mermaid revealed herself to a human, then they turned into bubbles and I don't want either you or our children to turn into bubbles" Rikiya said as he came up behind me, wrapped his arms around me, and began to rub my stomach while placing his cheek against the back of my head.

"I think that only happens in cartoons, but…daijobu, we'll keep it between us for the time being" I replied as I turned around, stood up on my tiptoes while placing my hands against Rikiya's muscular chest, and kissed him soundly; not so easy when you've got a bulging stomach that was trying to keep the two of you separated.

The next day, while at an appointment at the obstetrician's office, we learned that our secret was iie longer as much of a secret as we had liked it to have been. During an ultrasound, Isha-sensei left momentarily to have her eyes checked before returning with another isha who kept trying to tell her that she was hallucinating when they both paused to look at the images on the monitor.

"Look, Rikiya, we're going to have three little mermaids of our own" I said happily while wiping a couple of tears of joy from my eyes.

"I can't wait to hold and spoil them" Rikiya replied to me softly as he kissed me on the cheek.

"You're okay with this?" inquired the second isha in scorn. "If you ask me, you have them aborted!"

"You come within ten feet of my wife ever again and I'll throw you into the shark tank" Rikiya said in anger while I tried to seek him for protection.

"Fine, have the little freaks, maybe you can exploit them for your own financial gain" the man replied disgruntledly before turning and storming out the door.

"Onegai, forgive him; he's a baka. Meanwhile, I applaud your willingness to continue with the pregnancy. Maybe someday, I'll get the joy of swimming alongside of them" Isha-sensei then replied with a bright smile.

Thinking little of this while returning home, I then realize just exactly she had said and so went in pursuit of Regina.

"Do any Mermaids exist in the human world even now?" I inquired of the woman's image when she appeared above the water of Akihiro's show tank while he, in his normal form, hovered at my feet while sending me a questioning look and wondering why I wouldn't enter the water to play with him.

"Hai, even now, hidden in the human world, many Mermaids still exist, but they do not attempt to restore the Mermaid Kingdom until the return of the Mermaid Princesses; you bear three of them within your womb as we speak" Aqua Regina told me and I nodded my head in acceptance.

"One of those Mermaids is my isha-sensei who will be helping me when it comes time for me to give birth to them" I told her as her image began fading again and she nodded her head in acceptance of this information.

I then turned and began to walk away when Hina entered the room to work with Akihiro since I was now 'beached'. I then returned to the condo and sat down to watch some television and dozing off until Rikiya came home with some dinner for the two of us.

"So have you given any thought as to names for our little Mermaids?" Rikiya asked of me while we were eating dinner.

"Lucia, Rina, and Kaori" I replied without putting too much thought into it; Lucia was a girl's name that sounded as close to Luke as I could get and the same was true with Rina as it was as close to Rikiya as I could come up with; as for Kaori, well, I think that it goes without saying that it sounds close to my own name without being my name.

"Those are all lovely names" Rikiya replied with a bright smile as though he already understood my reasoning for selecting those names.

After dinner, we shared a bath together before heading off to bed where he snuggled up close to me from behind and wrapped one arm around my midsection.

I may not be allowed to swim with the sea creatures anymore, but I was still allowed to help out as much as I could, and so was left to help man the front desk and greet many of our visitors.

"Hey, Kaoru-chan; Rikiya tells me you've been experiencing some leg pains lately" a familiar voice piped up and I turned to look up into Luke's eyes with a smile.

"Hai, but I think it's from trying to walk around while carrying three little ones" I replied while indicating that he follow me into the office where we would be out of the way.

I sat down in Rikiya's chair while Luke pulled out a bottle of massage oil from his shirt pocket while inquiring, "So nani is the good word from seeing your obstetrician?"

"Uh, three healthy little girls, much like you and Momoko" I replied, though he could tell that I wasn't being completely honest.

"Uh-huh" he replied skeptically as he removed my shoes and socks from my feet before washing them in warm water while wearing vinyl gloves; a safety precaution. "Uh-oh, I brought the wrong massage oil."

"Well, can the same be done with lotion?" I asked of him while passing him a bottle.

"It's worth a shot" Luke replied as he squirted some into his hand, set my right leg up on his knee, and after warming the lotion in his hands, began massaging my lower leg and my foot which felt really good and relaxing.

Giggling at the thought, I then told Luke of how it was during gym class that Rikiya had given me my first calf, ankle, and foot massage and thus caused me to fall even more in love with him and Luke even shared a chuckle before replying, "Well, I hope this doesn't get you interested in me, because nothing is going to pry me away from my Momoko."

"Hmm, of course not, nor would I even try; besides that would be like falling in love with my kyodai and that's just *shudders*" I replied and we both began chuckling again. "Besides, I think that kind of thing only really happens in those adult hentai/anime-tachi."

"Not necessarily" Luke then replied catching my attention and then told me of his first girlfriend; it amazed me that he was able to keep control of his composure as he told me of her death.

"Gomen nasai, I didn't mean to remind you of such a sad memory" I apologized.

"Don't be, I've got Momoko now and come Heaven or Hell, I'll fight to keep her for my own" Luke replied determinedly as he finished up my massage. "Now, try to keep off your feet and if they should start bugging you any further, try either an ottoman or have Rikiya get you an electric massager. And if neither of those help, call me or Rikiya to give you a foot massage."

"Arigato, Oniichan; I'll do just that. Give my love to Momoko when you get home" I replied appreciatively as he showed himself out the door.

That afternoon, Rikiya entered the office to find me using the smaller visitor's chair as an ottoman while I was surfing the internet and inquired, "So how are you feeling?"

"A little bored, but otherwise I'm alright" I replied honestly.

"Well, that's more than understandable; you're usually playing in the tanks around this time" Rikiya replied with a light smile; he already had to fuss at a couple of my stand-ins while they were working in the tanks. "Do you know that only Hina knows how to do her job without constant supervision and even then she only takes care of Akihiro. I've had to yell at two of the people who were trying to handle the smaller jobs of cleaning the Giants of Atlantis exhibit."

"Well, it isn't easy keeping one's cool when Goliath gets curious as to nani you're doing" I noted to him while referring to the large male whale shark. "And those mantas also tend to get inquisitive when you're washing the glass."

"Hai, but I've never had to fuss at you or any of them about watching their backs when you were in there; I had to send Chihiro to the infirmary after she was struck in the back by one of the mantas' wings."

"Is she alright?" I then inquired.

"Hai, she's only got a mild abrasion from the dermadenticals of the manta's wings" Rikiya replied with a sigh.

"Well hopefully she'll know better for next time. She shouldn't even be in that big tank anyways; she's not a good swimmer" I then replied and Rikiya sent me an expression that told me that he wasn't aware of this fact.

"I wish I'd known that earlier; either she or her family could have held us liable if anything even more major had happened" Rikiya then said with a sigh as he knew that she still could.

"Let's just be thankful that she likes working with the residents as much as we do and may not do anything rash that could affect the aquarium" I then noted as he made a note to himself.

"I'd better get back to work; are you going to be alright?" he then inquired of me as I also stood up, though struggling a bit.

"Hai, I'm heading home to take a nap from here" I reported as we shared a brief kiss before leaving out the office door.

I was walking past the touch-tanks when I stopped to notice one of the small sharks behaving oddly and so went over to take a closer look at it before calling out, "Hey, Mira, could you bring one of the portable tanks over here; there's something wrong with this little nurse shark."

The girl ran into one of the supply closets and soon came back out with the portable tank I had requested before helping me to lift the small shark up out of the one tank and placed it into the smaller one; just in time too. As soon as we had placed the small shark into the small tank, it began to give birth to a bunch of little shark pups much to our delight, though it also raised some questions; how did a male get into the touch-tank with the female?

"Well, the good news is that we've had a successful breeding" noted Mira as though reading my thoughts while we transferred the mother back into the touch-tank once it had recovered from giving birth.

"Hai, but still, we shouldn't be having any unauthorized breeding going on, especially in the touch-tanks. Call Rikiya and let him know nani has happened and that the pups seem to be alright; maybe he can figure out how a male got into the tank with the female. Meanwhile, I'm heading home to get some…rest" I instructed her, though bracing when I was struck in the stomach by one of my own little ones.

"I'll do just that and will take the pups to the holding tank" Mira then informed me as I turned and began to leave amidst some mild applause from the visitors who had seen the whole thing while I waved dismissively to them though still smiling appreciatively.

When I got home, I walked over to the recliner, sat down and after propping my feet up, fell asleep almost immediately. Rikiya was gently shaking me awake a while later with a big grin on his face.

"Nani time is it?" I asked of him and looked over to notice that it was almost four in the afternoon.

"Many people are talking about nani you did for the nurse shark and her pups; some are hailing you as a heroine" Rikiya informed me and I blushed a bit.

"Do you have any idea as to how the male got in with the female?" I then inquired of him to turn the discussion away from me.

"Hai, turns out that someone mistook the male for a female, but I've since fixed the issue and put the male back in with the other males. Also, the two angel sharks arrived today and are now in the back holding tank to let them recuperate from their journey" he then informed me and I nodded my head in acceptance. "Also, I apologized to Chihiro for my error, but she dismissed it saying that she thought the manta was giving her an encouraging pat on the back."

"Well, that's a relief" I replied with a smile of my own as Rikiya helped be to stand up so as to join him in the daidokoro in fixing dinner.

The next day, while Rikiya returned to work, I remained home. A good thing too as my Mom called and requested permission to pay me a visit and I did have some rather big news to share with her in regards to the triplets.

Once she arrived and we had sat down at the table to share a cup of tea, I showed her the still photos of each of the little mermaids inside of me; she was understandably quiet. She soon returned them to me and just looked at me while waiting for the answer to her unasked question.

"I suppose an explanation is in order, isn't it?" I asked of her with a sigh.

"It would be appreciated" she replied quietly.

I told her of nani all had happened, of how even I was turned into a mermaid, of how I remained in a human form as long as I was on dry land and that the babies would too, and of how the one isha almost demanded I abort them. I saw her tense up at that moment and thus heavily reassured her that I wouldn't unless there was something truly wrong with them.

"Your father is really going to have trouble with this one" Mom then informed me.

"I suppose a lot of people are going to have problems with this one, but I won't let stupidity and prejudice affect my children; they are perfectly normal despite the fact that they morph into mermaids when in the water" I informed my mother succinctly.

"I applaud your determination; but iie matter how hard you try to protect them, they will at some point or another be ridiculed and ostracized for their appearance…though not by me. I can't wait to hold my grandchildren!" Mom then said with a bright smile and a joyful tear in here eye.

"Arigato, Mom" I said as I reached out across the table to take her hand into my own and we smiled to each other.

Mom told my father later that day, but had to do so a couple of extra times to help him to completely understand the information. Dai and Shou, however, were a different matter.

Shou was excited as he was looking forward to chasing them around the swimming pool, but Dai wasn't quite as accepting as I had hoped he would be.

"Oh great; so not only has my own shimai been turned into a freak, but so too are her unborn children!" Dai had exclaimed angrily, which hurt me in a way that I hadn't expected.

"Dai, I'm surprised at you!" Mom exclaimed, also in anger.

"So be surprised; if you ask me, Kaoru, you should have done as that one isha had suggested" Dai said firmly while keeping his back turned to me.

I remained quiet but stood up and firmly told him, "Then I'm sure you'll understand when I cut you off from my family." I then excused myself of the others and left back for home.

Mom, Dad, and Shou began shouting at Dai as soon as I had left but I didn't bother to turn around so as to return to their home. While walking home, I began tearing up so heavily that I sat down on an empty bench and began crying into my hands until I heard an all too familiar roar of a motorcycle and soon Luke pulled up at the curb with a deep look of concern on his face; he'd just gotten off of work and was on his way home.

I shared all with him and he was completely unfazed by my mentioning that I and my children were mermaids, but when I told him of Dai's reaction, I could feel his anger welling up with him as he hugged me.

"Well, this oniisan isn't going to abandon or turn you or your children away" he told me in a reassuring tone as I was leaning my head down upon his shoulder.

Pulling out his cell phone, he called up Momoko to let her know that he was going to be late and why; she was very understanding. He then drove me home, with me sitting side-saddle on the back of his motorcycle and even then keeping to the minimum speed limit so as to ensure my safety.

A few weeks later and I went into labor. Rikiya rushed me to the hospital where we were soon met by my obstetrician and taken into the delivery room. Both mine and Rikiya's parents were sitting in the waiting room with Shou as Dai had been left uninvited.

Six hours later, and I had given birth to three beautiful baby girls whom, it seemed, reverted to their human form soon after my water broke. Everyone was quite excited and happy to see the newborns, but were also understanding when I told them of my name choices; even more so when I told them why.

Luke and Momoko, having left their triplets in the care of their obachan-tachi, arrived to pay me and my little ones a visit. Though, much like Momoko, I felt iie shame in exposing myself while nursing little Lucia and Kaori; Rina however, was getting rather fussy so Momoko undid her own shirt and bra to let Rina hook up much to my amazement.

"Nani?" Momoko asked as we all looked at her in surprise.

"I didn't expect you to be willing to let one of my babies nurse off of you is all" I replied honestly.

"Well, as long as there's a hungry baby and I've got food to offer, I figure, why not offer? It was up to Rina-chan to decide whether or not to take the offering" Momoko replied with a smile.

A short time later, after we had the girls all fed and cleaned up, Dai showed up and I tensed up; Luke must have realized this as he took up a stance before the basinets so as to protect the girls as Rikiya had to run down to the aquarium to take care of a few things.

"I, uh, thought I might be able to visit with my mei-tachi" he said uncertainly.

"You mean the very ones you told me I should have aborted?" I asked of him angrily.

"Gomen nasai, I was out of place" he apologized sincerely, though I wasn't quite ready to trust him completely yet.

"Nothing will change the fact that they're Mermaids…as am I" I told him as I climbed up out of bed and walked over to the basinets to stand beside Luke.

"I know…it…it just took me a while to accept that something like this could have happened, especially to someone I care about. Only…sumimasen, I let my pride and prejudices get in the way of my true feelings for you, Kaoru-chan! You mean more to me than anything and the thought of something that could have been bad happening to you clouded my judgment. I don't deserve the right to ask you this, but…onegai…forgive me" he said as he broke out sobbing while slowly dropping to his knees in front of us.

"You want to keep it down; your mei-tachi are trying to sleep" I told him with a sniff and he looked up at me in confusion. "I may have been hurt and made to feel little by your hurtful words, but that doesn't make me a little person; I forgive you."

I then approached and hugged Dai to show the genuineness of my forgiveness before taking hold of his hands and led him over to see the three girls sleeping in their basinets as I explained to him, "I'd let you hold one of them, but I just got them settled down for a nap."

"They're as beautiful as their mother" Dai complimented us and I smiled in reply, though still secretly sending Luke and Momoko a signal that indicated that I wanted them to stay until Dai left, just to be on the safe side; in case he was merely crying crocodile-tears.

Mom and Dad soon arrived to pay me a visit and Dai bowed politely to all of us before leaving off on his own when Mom asked, "Why was he here?"

"To ask for forgiveness, which I granted him, though, I don't think I can fully trust him yet" I replied as I relaxed and even Luke took up a more relaxed stance.

"You're looking well, Momoko-chan; how are you triplets?" Dad inquired politely.

"They're doing just fine, arigato. Right now, they're being spoiled by their obasan-tachi" Momoko replied appreciatively.

"Speaking of whom, we'd best be getting home ourselves so as to relieve them; don't hesitate to call me if you should need anything, Kaoru-chan" Luke told me as he gave me a kiss on the forehead while setting a green mini buster sword onto the bed beside me and I took it up to slip it under my mattress in the event Dai should return to try anything while iie one else was there; like I said, I may have forgiven him, but I don't trust him.

Fortunately, my worries proved all for naught as when he came the next day, he had brought with him three plush toys from the aquarium's gift shop and the girls really seemed to enjoy them. He once again apologized to me for his behavior and understood my hidden distrust of him. Again, he left as Rikiya's parents arrived to see their magomusume-tachi, having sensed their own distrust of him.

The next day, I was allowed to bring the girls home and both Rikiya and I were soon setting them down for their first naps in their new crib with the two of us watching over them and smiling to each other joyfully.

Momoko's POV

When we arrived home from a day of shopping and visiting with Rikiya and Kaoru, we found Luke's shimai-tachi zonked out in the playpen with their mei-tachi sleeping in between them. We both turned and smiled as we giggled at the sight, but one thing that didn't pass our notice was the fact that Ami's and Isamu's own bellies were starting to swell.

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><p><strong>Carly: Do you think we'll ever be able to trust Dai again?<strong>

**TCW: Only time will tell.**

**Carly: I do hope so. And I do believe I know nani we can expect for the next chapter, but I'll ask anyways.**

**Next time…**

**Ami and Isamu: It's our turn for the pregnancy adventure next!**

**TCW: All this and still much, much, MUCH more still to come, so stay tuned.**

**Momoko and Carly: Meanwhile, be sure to leave us some nice reviews, onegai!**

**Author's Note: Also, onegai, be sure to check out Carly's (cakedecorator) newest story: "Room for One More! Bridgette!" And interesting little tale of how Bridgette joins the Powerpuff Girls Z; set in the English-dubbing. - The Cat Whispurrer  
><strong>


	62. The PPZ Passover

**Arigato for the many great reviews, all; and welcome to the fun, lolgirl32. Before we begin this next chapter, onegai, let me point out that despite the content of this chapter, this does not reflect back on either me or any of the owners of the original characters used in this chapter, so kindly save any unfavorable comments for someone else as we have iie wish to hear them. Now that this has been said, let us join our friends as they are about to observe their very first…**

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><p><strong>The PPZ Passover<strong>

It was Saturday morning and I was racing about my home frantically trying to prepare everything for my family's Passover celebration; I'd also invited my friends and teammates to the special occasion.

While getting ready to prepare to bake the kosher desserts, Sherbet and Clemintina hovered nearby watching when Sherbet inquired, "Gomen nasai, but aren't you going to need flour, baking powder, baking soda, and yeast for your Pesach desserts?"

"Iie, those ingredients create leavened bread and according to Jewish law, all Pesach must be unleavened. That's why I'm going to be using Matzah Meal, Matzah Cake Meal, Potato Starch, and Matzah Farfel so that they remain unleavened" I explained to the two Sweets Spirits who soon nodded their heads in understanding.

Meanwhile, my mother was helping Chico in preparing the rest of the Passover meal of brisket, chicken, gefilte fish, charoset, horseradish, romaine lettuce, rice, and potatoes; both of them had decided to move to Japan recently as Chico had wanted to attend culinary college there so as to open up his own Japanese restaurant that also offered kosher delicacies. Josh, meanwhile, was sent out to purchase some red grape juice to use in place of the traditional red wine since neither I nor any of my friends could tolerate the taste of alcohol.

"So how many of your friends are coming, Kaarii-chan?" inquired my father as he had decided to remain out of the way and so sat in the small dining room of the bakery.

"Most of them; unfortunately, a few had to decline the invitation. Kuriko and Ken are watching over Momoko's little ones and Kaoru and Rikiya can't make it since their little ones just arrived" I told him and he nodded his head in acceptance of this.

"So how long until you and Josh decide to have your own little ones?" dad then inquired and I froze up momentarily.

"Um…well, let's see…maybe…seven more months" I replied while blushing deeply; I had been hoping to keep it a secret until after the Passover. "We still haven't told anyone else yet."

"I'm so happy for you two; your mother is going to flip out when she hears the good news" he told me as he came up and hugged me from behind.

"Arigato, Dad; I'm just concerned about being able to manage the expenses" I noted in honesty, though I would never consider the alternative.

"It's a good thing that you won your court case against the guy you bought both your apartment and the bakery from then. I still can't believe that he'd add in the price of a new industrial air conditioning unit only to have it installed in his own home instead of the bakery and your apartment" Dad noted to me.

"To say little of the fact that my lawyer was also my father's associate or we could have been taken for a ride on our court expenses, too" I added with a smile; once we had spoken with the people who had installed the A.C. unit and they told us nani had happened, they also agreed to move it back to the building we were currently using.

"So have you two put any further thought into expanding into the empty lot next door?" Mom inquired as she entered the bakery.

"Hai, but it'd be too expensive given our current funds" Josh replied as he came out from the back carrying a tray of special frozen treats that he called Italian Ices and that were essentially frozen fruit juice and slid them into the giant glass-front freezer. "I'd be happy if we could just find the room to make an ice cream parlor as part of the bakery."

"Have you thought of taking out a loan?" Chico inquired while taking a break from the cooking.

"Hai, but we don't want to take a risk of dealing with any underhanded, shifty loan-sharks that also deal in unsavory side jobs" I informed him and he quickly began nodded his head in comprehension.

"I don't think Luke-sama would let anything bad happen to either of you, Mom" noted little Sherbet helpfully.

"I'm sure he wouldn't, but all the same, why stir up a hornet's nest of trouble when it can be avoided?" I posed to her and she nodded her head in understanding.

Isamu's POV

I was visiting the aquarium, in hopes of meeting up with either Rikiya or Kaoru when I came upon the stadium aquarium where Kaoru and Akihiro usually performed a play together for the entertainment of the visitors, though mostly the children. Deep in the background was a gigantic clam that was told to house a pearl of equally immense proportions, but I always figured this to be a rumor as surely they would have sold the pearl and I knew they were still paying for the new additions to the aquarium.

I was looking at some of the fish that also lived within the same aquarium, including a couple of Goliath groupers, when I beheld the clam open its massive maw to show off the pearl inside which was now glowing.

"Isamu-chan!" I heard Rikiya shout out with a note of fear in his voice and I turned to look at him as he came running up to take hold of me when we were both enveloped by a beam of energy which soon dissipated.

Turning back, we saw the clam close up once again before turning to look at one another when Rikiya inquired, "Are you alright, Isamu-chan?"

"I'm fine outside of being startled by your reaction to that clam's showing off its pearl to me, but nani is the deal with the light-show?" I replied while giving him a playful punch in the arm.

"Come with me" was all he said as he led me to his and Kaoru's condo to grant me entrance. "Nani I am about to show you may startle you at first, but rest assured, that they are fine and healthy."

Knocking on the door to the furoba, Rikiya soon allowed me to follow him inside to see Kaoru bathing their new little…mermaids.

"Those aren't costumes, are they?" I then inquired of Kaoru who silently shook her head. "Okay, Rikiya-kun, I'm waiting for your explanation."

"Nani is going on, Rikiya?" Kaoru then asked as he released a sigh and told me the whole story before continuing on to explain nani had just happened to the two of us to Kaoru whose face fell.

"Okay, so it turns girls into mermaids, but has iie effect on boys; I'm in the clear then as I'm having three boys…" I started to say when I remembered one really big piece of information that just struck home. "Wait, I'm a girl, so does that mean…I'm to become a mermaid too?"

To answer my question, Kaoru raise her own tail and I swallowed hard while Rikiya told me in a comforting tone, "Don't worry, you'll still be able to maintain your Powerpuff Z powers, but whenever you take a bath, shower, or go swimming, you will become a mermaid."

"So I'll just have to resort to taking sponge baths from now on" I replied as I stood up and began to walk out of the furoba.

"But Isamu-chan, there's nothing wrong with being a mermaid and once you dry off, you'll go back to being human…see?" Rikiya informed me as he finished drying off Lucia and held her up for me to see that she now had legs.

"That's not the point, Rikiya-kun. My concern is that if Kanta sees he's going to come back to try and kill your clam so as to destroy the pearl" I replied in honesty; Kanta wasn't exactly one known for either patience or understanding of things outside the norm.

"Then bring him here and I'll let him see for himself" Kaoru told me as she soon came walking out of the furoba with a towel wrapped around her.

"I'll see nani I can do, meanwhile, I've got to be getting home to get ready to join Kaarii and her family for their Passover Seder" I informed them with a wave as I dashed out the door to head home.

Momoko's POV

Saturday morning, I was sitting in the living room, nursing Anzu, and watching Luke as he played with Suzuko and Akahana when I asked of him, "So nani all is involved in this Seder dinner we're attending tonight?"

"Well as I understand it, the celebration is all about the ten plagues to befall ancient Egypt back when they had enslaved the Israelites. Using Moses as his mouthpiece, God ordered Pharaoh to release the Israelites but he kept refusing, so God sent ten plagues upon the Egyptians until they were then released. However, it was during the tenth plague that the celebration takes its name as that was the night where God sent for his spirit to kill all of the firstborn sons of Egypt, with the exception of the homes of the Israelites who obeyed the command to play lamb's blood upon their doorposts as those homes were passed over and left unharmed; hence the name of the celebratory occasion. After that, God's people were then released to begin their exodus to a specific location that God had decreed was the Promised Land; all of which will be read to us from a special text called the Haggadah during the celebration" Luke explained to me.

"Sugoi, iie wonder they still celebrate the occasion" I noted in amazement.

"Hai, well any and all other questions will be answered during the course of the meal as it's usually the youngest, probably little Sherbet in this case, is to ask a selected arrangement of questions so as to help us all comprehend the importance of the event" Luke further explained to me and I nodded my head as I began to burp Anzu before passing her over to Luke as he passed Suzuko to me to start nursing while he tended Anzu's omutsu; we had already done Akahana.

"Well, from nani I understand, Sherbet and Clemintina are actually older than the rest of us" I then noted to Luke who nodded his head in acceptance of this.

"You're right; I just have hard time thinking of them as being as such due to how young they look" he then confessed to me and we both shared a chuckle over this.

Once done with feeding and changing our little girls, we set them down in their playpen and went off to get dressed for the evening's events. Once done, we then gathered them up and placed them into their car seats to take them to the lab to be watched over by Ken and Kuriko; they wouldn't be in attendance mostly because Ken considered himself a man of science, not of faith.

"So, going to Kaarii's Seder tonight?" Ken inquired with a smirk on his face.

"Hai, it actually sounds like fun; maybe you should go and get yourself a little lesson in faith" Luke replied to him.

"Onegai, there's nothing in this world that can convince me that there is some kind of all-powerful, divine being that rules over the universe" Ken then replied firmly as he helped me and Kuriko in taking the little ones up to the living quarters of the lab while Luke just shook his head in disbelief at him.

After dropping the girls off, we continued on our way to Kaarii's shop when I said, "I can't believe that Ken doesn't believe in God."

"Not yet at any rate, but believe me when I say that he will someday" Luke said cryptically and I just sent him a look of curiosity.

The evening proved as joyous and educational as we had hoped, though many of us couldn't help but notice Isamu having a difficult time. The evening the celebration was almost over when Kaarii and her family would sing to us some of the songs they enjoyed as part of the celebration when Isamu uttered a screech and we all turned to look at her in concern.

"Onegai, don't tell me I just peed myself" she whined and both Luke and I shot each other a concerned look.

"Iie, Isamu-chan; your water just broke" Ami replied as she was still quite a bit smaller than her shimai.

Kaarii called up an ambulance to come and pick her up while Luke and I helped in cleaning up both the mess and Isamu while she began deeply breathing.

"Is it always this exciting?" Pazu quietly asked of Kaarii's father.

"The Seder or the moment where your wife's water breaks?" he asked in return.

"And to think, I have this moment to look forward to when my time comes" noted Ami with a nervous smile.

The ambulance soon arrived and we all saw Isamu and the paramedics out the door once they had her strapped onto the wheeled-stretcher. Of course, due to the excitement, it was later than we had anticipated and so we all had to beg forgiveness in not being able to see the celebration to its finale, but Kaarii, Josh, and her parents were very understanding as they saw us off before returning inside to finish the evening themselves.

"I sure learned a lot tonight" I commented to Luke as we were driving to the lab.

"Hai, and dinner was really good, too" Luke commented though I could tell that he was slightly distracted.

"You're concerned about Isamu, aren't you?" I inquired of him.

He quietly nodded his head silently as he pulled into the driveway of the lab to pick up our little ones. Kuriko and Peach met us at the door, though Peach seemed to have an exhausted look on his little face.

"Are you alright, Peach?" I inquired of the small robotic canine.

"Your children are active and curious" Kuriko noted with a grin that told me more than she was telling verbally.

The girls were quietly sleeping in their car seats with Ken watching over them with a frazzled appearance in not only his facial features, but his hair and clothes too.

"Where's Luke?" Ken inquired of me as we approached the table the girls were resting on.

"He's probably still downstairs; Isamu's water broke just before we were able to listen to Kaarii and her family sing their songs. Needless to say, he's concerned about her" I told them honestly as I gazed down upon my sleeping angels.

"How are the babes?" Luke inquired as he quietly entered the room.

"They're asleep; how's Isamu?" I replied.

"Still quite pregnant but otherwise iie worse for wear; Kanta's in a veritable panic" he informed us as he took up Anzu and Akahana, leaving me to carry Suzuko.

Kuriko's POV

Ken and I followed Luke and Oneechan out to the car where they set the girls down in the backseat before buckling in each of their car seats. After sharing hugs and kisses oyasumi, Ken and I stood together waving as Luke and Momoko left for home.

"So, want to go back inside and take a bath together?" I asked of Ken with a smile.

"Just try and stop me" Ken replied as we shared a kiss.

He then chased me back inside and up to the furoba where we began to undress each other before washing up.

Momoko's POV

Early the following morning, after breakfast and getting the girls fed and cleaned up, we headed over to the hospital to visit with Isamu only to find that she had been moved to a maternity suite having given birth to three healthy boys and she was still asleep after having such an exciting night. We then decided to come back a little later when we ran into Ami and Miyako, the latter of whom was due to have her little ones anytime now.

"I'm really looking forward to my own children; I've already been drawing and writing down clothes designs for them" Miyako informed us with a bright smile.

"So where's Takaaki, isn't he with you?" Luke inquired of her.

"Iie, he's still at the shop ordering furniture for our three little boys. Which reminds me, I've already announced that I'll iie longer be taking any special orders for quite a while since I'm taking my own maternity leave" Miyako informed us.

"That makes sense to…me" I was saying when I noticed Kuriko and Ken trying to sneak by us. "Hold it, you two; why do you look so guilty?"

"It's a surprise for later" Kuriko replied while trying to continue backing away from me only to run into Luke as he was standing right behind her.

She turned to look up into Luke's eyes and his expression when from one of expectation to realization almost as soon as their eyes met when he said, "I understand; your secret is safe with me until you're ready."

"Arigato, Luke" Ken expressed with a bow to his elder itoko before he and Kuriko were allowed to continue on their way.

"So nani was that all about, Oniichan?" Ami inquired of Luke.

"I can't tell you; it's a surprise" Luke replied with a grin before kissing Ami on the cheek.

"Hey, are you three coming in to see your oi-tachi or not?" we heard Isamu call from a little ways down the hall and tapping her barefoot on the tiled floor.

"We'll be right there; now go lay down and get off your feet before I put you over my knee" Luke called back and Isamu couldn't turn around fast enough to escape back into her room and closed the door.

"You're going to have to teach us that one" noted Ami's supervisor to Luke as she walked over to join us. "Your lab results were dropped off at the counter, Ami-chan, and gomen nasai, but I got nosy and read them; omedeto."

"You mean that I'm…pregnant?" Ami asked of her in shock, whispering the last word.

"As are Kuriko and Kaarii" Luke noted and now it was my turn to look up at him in astonishment. "Oops, I think I said that too loud."

"Did you say that Kuriko is too?" I asked of him to confirm nani I had heard.

"Uh, Isamu-chan's getting impatient, so let's go visit her and her three musuko-tachi before they grow up on us" Luke said as he began leading me and Ami away while Miyako just giggled at us before waving sayonara to us.

"You're going to answer me before we leave, Luke" I told him while sending him a hard look as we stopped to stand in front of Isamu's door and letting Ami knock.

Kanta granted us entrance and we were soon gazing down upon their three little boys with bright, loving smiles.

"From left to right, they are Kaito, Makoto, and Sakiya" Kanta informed us while beaming at us proudly while Isamu sat quietly in the middle of her bed with the sheets and blanket tucked tightly around her.

"I was only teasing about that last part, Isamu-chan" Luke then told her as he placed a kiss upon her cheek.

"Well I never know with you" she replied with a pout.

"I can only threaten now; Kanta is the only one allowed to deliver ever since the two of you were married" Luke told her as he picked up her hair brush and began to brush her hair for her.

"Can you do mine when you're done, Oniichan?" asked Ami; her hair did look a bit disheveled.

"Of course" Luke replied with a smile as I was granted the honor of holding little Kaito in my arms.

"So have you heard from your isha yet?" Isamu inquired as she was relaxing now.

"Hai, I'm about two months pregnant; give or take a week" she replied lightly as Luke moved to sit in the chair beside me and indicating to her that it was her turn to have her hair brushed.

"You have three very handsome young men, Isamu-chan" I informed her with a bright smile which soon faded as Kaito began to grope me.

"I don't believe it; he's barely twelve hours old and he's already a hentaisha" Isamu then squawked at Kanta.

"Iie he isn't; he's just hungry and knows where the source of food is, that's all" I told her as I passed Kaito over to her.

"So nani am I supposed to do?" Isamu asked in uncertainty.

I then helped her in slipping down one sleeve of her gown before aiding her into getting Kaito to hook up and he was soon nursing off of her. Isamu remained silent as she was nursing him, but still managed to smile brightly with tears of happiness in her eyes. She then looked up and the expression in her face and eyes told me everything she was feeling.

"I know; I felt the same way when I first started nursing my girls. When Kaito is done, I'll show you how to let the other two hook up so as to nurse them at the same time" I then informed her and she looked at me in surprise.

"Didn't you learn all of this in Lamaze Class?" Luke then asked of her.

"I never had the time as I was too busy teaching kendo" Isamu replied honestly as Kaito finished and I passed him over to Kanta to burp. Kanta just looked at him in lack of comprehension when Luke showed him nani he had to do. Meanwhile, I showed Isamu how to nurse her two remaining boys at the same time.

"So do you do this all the time with your girls?" Isamu asked and I nodded my head to her.

"First Akahana and then Anzu and Suzuko simultaneously" Luke replied in further confirmation.

We were soon leaving to let Isamu get some rest and returned home, though not before I decided to continue our earlier conversation, "So nani was that about Kuriko?"

"I don't remember" Luke replied with a shrug.

"You said earlier that she was pregnant" I reminded him with a look of distrust as I placed my fists upon my hips.

"I did; gomen nasai, but I honestly don't remember" he replied while unlocking the car door and opening it for me.

I was about to fuss at him further when his cell phone rang and he answered it hear my mother on the other end inquiring if we were alright since we were late in returning home.

"Hai, we're fine; we just ran into some other friends while we were visiting and stopped to talk with them as well. We're on our way home now; would you like us to pick you up anything on the way?" Luke informed her.

"Is everything alright?" I asked of him once he hung up.

"Hai, but we need to stop and pick up some ramen on the way home; Gibo-chan's request" he then informed me as he slid behind the wheel of the car and drove us to our favorite ramen restaurant where we ordered take-out.

Upon our return home, I went into the furoba to wash my upper half to be sure I was free of any possible germs that I may have come into contact with while at the hospital before walking back out with little care that I was now naked from the waist up and picked up Akahana to start nursing her.

My mother shook her head at me in disbelief and I asked her, "Nani; you don't expect me to put the same dirty shirt on, do you? That would defeat the purpose of washing up."

"Hai, but I'd think you'd at least put a robe on or something while you have company" Mom gently reprimanded me.

"It's not like I've got anything you haven't seen before, besides, it's not something I would do in front of anyone else other than you, Luke, Kuriko, or one the other girls" I noted to her in honesty.

"I suppose that does make some sense, but I was more concerned about Luke's feelings" Mom replied with a smile.

"Don't worry about me, I've seen a whole lot more than just that" Luke replied with a grin as I passed Akahana over to him before taking up Anzu and Suzuko to nurse them together.

"You two are impossible" my mom then said while chuckling at us.

Once we had the girls taken care of and I had a fresh shirt on, we all sat down at the table to eat our lunch when Mom inquired, "By any chance did you see your imoto at the hospital while you were visiting; she said she was going there for a checkup."

"Hai, we did; which reminds me…" I started to go into it with Luke again but he held his hand up to silence me.

"Gomen nasai, but she said that the results are a secret that she wishes to share with us at a later point in time and I will not disclose that information under any circumstances" Luke replied firmly.

I started to argue further but my mom also silenced me as she said, "I understand, but can you at least tell me whether it is something to worry about or not; otherwise I'm going to wind up worrying myself to a frazzle."

"It's nothing to be concerned about and that's all I can say" Luke replied with a sigh and Mom nodded her head in acceptance, thus I also had to let it go.

A few nights later, Kuriko requested our presences for a special dinner she was preparing where she shared the results of her checkup with us.

"Mom, Dad, Oneechan; I've been hiding a secret from you for the last few days so as to let it settle in. I accidentally informed Oniichan of this and he has also been holding it from you on my behalf, to which I'd like to say arigato for doing this as I know how had both Mom and Oneechan can be to deal with" she began and Luke just gave her a wave of dismissal as though to tell her that it was iie problem.

Mom and I started to say something further when Kuriko, her head bowed, held up a hand to silence us before continuing, "It isn't exactly easy to say this as I've never done anything like this before and I don't know nani you are going to say about it, so onegai bear with me as I try to say this. Mom, Dad, Oneechan…I'm pregnant."

There was an audible release of held breath from me, Mom, and Dad when she informed us of this as we had almost been expecting to hear her say that she had something like cancer, or worse.

"My word, child; we thought you were about to tell us that you were dying or something" Dad said as he picked up his napkin and dabbed tears from his eyes with it.

"Omedeto you two" Luke said as he held up his glass in a salute.

"Arigato, Oniichan" Kuriko replied with a light smile as Mom came up behind her and wrapped her arms around her as she planted a kiss upon Kuriko's cheek.

When Luke and I returned home that night, we kissed our girls oyasumi and washed up while making love to one another before slipping into the bed in the nursery to fall asleep.

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><p><strong>Carly: Well that was a fun chapter!<strong>

**TCW: Indeed.**

**Carly: So nani is in store for the next one?**

**Next time…**

**Miyako (shyly): It's my turn to have my little ones.**

**Takaaki: And I'm on the verge of a nervous breakdown!**

**Luke: Relax; these things take time and patience.**

**TCW: All this and still a whole lot more still to come.**

**Momoko and Carly: So be sure to leave us some nice reviews while you wait!**

**Author's Note: Most of the information used in this chapter has been collected from Wikipedia, so if any of my information is in error, it is not entirely my fault. Also, if I have made any errors, PLEASE politely let me know along with the correct information so that I may make any adjustments before running the risk of unintentionally offending anyone. Thank you - The Cat Whispurrer  
><strong>


	63. Miyako's Blessings

**Arigato to all for your wonderful reviews! For this next chapter, we get to join Takaaki as he and his lovely wife get ready to enjoy…**

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><p><strong>Miyako's Blessings<strong>

I had just finished making the alterations to the last dress on my to-do list and passed it over to my client to try it on to make sure everything was fitting just right and sat back to smile while placing one hand against my cheek. The woman slid into her dress and was now modeling it in front of me while smiling brightly; she approved of the work I'd done.

"I still can't believe you're closing up shop, but at the same time, it is understandable as to why you are doing it" she then noted while I was seeing her to the checkout counter where Takaaki stood waiting for us.

"Hai, well once my little boys are born, they're going to be all the work I can handle. But I should be back to work in a couple of months afterwards" I informed her while continuing to smile.

"Will you at least be keeping the store open? My daughter and I just love shopping here" she then inquired of me while paying Takaaki for my work.

"Hai, though it'll mostly just be me running the place while Miyako is allowed to rest up as much as she can. Though I have the feeling that once the boys are born, there won't be too much resting going on" Takaaki told her honestly.

"Thankfully Momoko has been polite enough to show me how to multitask in caring for them and the nightly Lamaze classes have also been beneficial; I'm more excited now than nervous" I confessed to the client and even Takaaki was nodding his head in agreement.

"Daijobu; well good luck, you two" the client replied as she dash off towards the door and waved to us before leaving.

"Why don't you head on up to the apartment; I'll close and cleanup" Taka-chan then offered me as he came around the counter and wrapped his arms around me.

"Are you sure you don't mind; I can still help you some" I offered in return.

"I'm sure, besides, you look like you could use the rest" he replied after we shared a kiss.

"I am feeling a little tired; very well, I'll meet you upstairs" I said before giving him one more kiss and soon turned to leave out the backdoor which led up to our apartment; right now, though, I wish we had either an escalator or an elevator to reach the top floor.

After climbing the stairs and catching my breath, I headed for the daidokoro to begin fixing dinner while sitting on a high stool so that I wouldn't have to remain standing. A couple of hours later, just as I was setting the table, Takaaki came up the stairs after closing the store and so helped in carrying our dinner to the table.

"Are you sure you can handle taking care of the store, me, and our little ones once they arrive, Taka-chan?" I asked of Takaaki in concern.

"It'll be a struggle at first, but I'll manage so iie need to worry about it; I'll just have to figure out how to balance the workload once I have it to see nani all is involved" Takaaki replied with a smile that seemed a bit forced.

I lightly smiled in return before turning back to my pasta; Kaarii had given me a few Italian recipes that I liked but adjusted them accordingly so as to given them a slight Nihon twist by using ramen noodles instead of regular pasta noodles.

"I suppose it won't be long until Eri, Tomohiro, and Youga are born" Takaaki then noted aloud so as to continue the conversation and I just nodded my head in agreement. "Are you alright?"

"I'm a bundle of emotions right now, Taka-chan. I'm scared, nervous, excited, happy, and concerned" I replied honestly before turning to wipe a couple of tears from my eyes.

"Well, the nervous, excited, and happy parts I can understand, but nani is it that scares and concerns you?" Takaaki asked as he looked over at me with compassion in his eyes.

"I-I'm concerned that the workload is going to prove to be too much for you that you may decide to up and leave me, and that's nani scares me" I replied as I burst out crying heavily into my hands.

I heard him rise up, approach, and soon felt him resting a hand upon my upper arm and his other hand upon my lap as he told me, "That…will…never…happen, Miyako-chan; I love you too much."

I looked down into his face as he continued to look at me with compassion and I just wrapped my arms around him as I leaned my head down upon his shoulder to continue crying.

Once I was able to pull myself together, Takaaki then collected the used dishes and cleaned up before returning to help me to the furoba where we shared a shower together before turning in for the night. At one point in the middle of the night, Takaaki gently shook me awake with a smile.

"Nani is the matter?" I asked of him tiredly.

"Nothing, you just accidentally peed the bed; one of the boys must have been pressing upon your bladder" he told me while continuing to smile as I struggled to get out of bed and suddenly gasped out in pain.

"Iie, my water broke; Taka-chan, I'm having contractions!" I told him concernedly once the first contraction subsided.

Takaaki turned and snatched up the bedroom phone and called for an ambulance before helping me to get out of my soiled panties. He then grabbed up my coat and helped me into it before placing my shoes upon my feet before running into the bedroom to put on a pair of pants and a shirt. With him in front of me, we began our decent down the stairs when I had to give pause to endure another contraction before continuing down the stairs just as the ambulance arrived.

Takaaki's POV

We arrived at the hospital and were checked in by one in the morning and by nine Miyako had given birth to our three healthy little boys. She was sound asleep soon after giving birth to Youga and was moved to a maternity suite while she slept. Miyako awoke by around noon and was looking around at her new surroundings when she noticed the three bassinettes sitting off to one side of the room.

Miyako's POV

"Konnichiwa, would you like to see our three boys?" Takaaki greeted me warmly as he offered me his hand to help me up out of bed to go and see our boys.

I eagerly nodded my head as I took hold of his hand and we walked over to where our boys were sleeping soundly. Our boys were very close in weight, though Tomohiro was about half a pound bigger than Eri and Eri was about a quarter pound heavier than Youga. The kangofu soon walked in and offered to show me how to go about nursing them and soon I had Youga feeding off of me rather hungrily.

"Is there a way to nurse two of them at once; my friend Momoko usually does it with her girls" I requested of kangofu-sensei and as soon as Youga was finished, she showed me how to tend to both Tomohiro and Eri together.

We were then aided in getting the boys changed and put back down for another nap when Takaaki's cell phone began ringing, "Moshi-moshi…Hai, everything's just fine; Miyako had our three boys last night. Daijobu, I'll let her know and we'll look forward to seeing you two in a little while, Luke-kun."

"Are they coming for a visit?" I asked of him and Takaaki nodded his head in confirmation.

"Wait, my hair's a mess, I'm filthy and…*sniffs gown* I smell a little gamy; I need a shower" I complained to Takaaki in concern.

"Well, you do have a good excuse; most women smell a little sweaty after giving birth to just one child where as you had three" kangofu-sensei informed me with a smile.

"She's got a point and you smell just fine to me" Takaaki then informed me with a comforting smile.

Blushing, I smiled back up at him as I was assisted in slipping back into bed. I had just settled down comfortably and was passed Youga to hold him some more when there was a knock on the door. Takaaki went to answer it and soon was granting Luke and Momoko entrance while sharing a hug with her and a handshake with him.

"Konnichiwa, Miyako-chan, how are you feeling this afternoon?" Momoko inquired of me in a quiet voice as she gazed down at Youga in my arms.

"I'm okay, a little sweaty, but otherwise iie worse for wear" I replied honestly.

"Don't be too worried about your vanity, Miyako-chan; soon you won't even know the meaning of the word. Just ask Momoko, she'll tell you" Luke said as he and Takaaki were now sitting off on the other side of the room and holding Eri and Tomohiro in their arms.

I looked back to Momoko, who's cheeks were bright red, and I smiled at her as she said, "That's not entirely true, Luke-chan!"

"Right, she just walks around the house topless a lot for the sake of doing it" Luke replied to Takaaki with a grin and I notice Momoko's cheeks turn even brighter.

"That's because it's easier to nurse the girls that way; as soon as I'm done, I put a shirt on" Momoko commented as she turned her back to Luke while crossing her arms in indignation.

"I think I can see the practicality of that; why unnecessarily dirty a shirt when you're going to have to change it every couple of hours or so" noted kangofu-sensei which made Momoko smile a bit.

"To say little of the fact that before I do nurse my girls, I'm always washing my upper body with a warm sanitizing solution so that they don't get any germs from me while nursing" Momoko added as she turned to face kangofu-sensei better.

"Well, you'd normally have to do that before and after nursing anyways, so since you tend to nurse two of your girls at once, that does make a great deal of sense. And as long as you're only doing it while it's just you and your husband, who cares nani others think about it" added kangofu-sensei encouragingly while sending Luke a dirty look.

"Hey, I wasn't complaining about it; I was just saying that Miyako-chan will just have to abandon her vanity for a while is all. Besides, I rather like seeing her that way when I get home after a hard day's work as she's the one girl I don't have to avert my gaze away from" Luke spoke out in his own defense which soon had Momoko blushing once again and the rest of us smiling at them.

"You're incorrigible" Momoko then told him with a light giggle.

"Hai, and you're gorgeous; which is nani drives me to be incorrigible" Luke replied and we were all soon chuckling at them.

"Daijobu, I'll confess it; you make me incorrigible, too, Luke-chan. Which is why it's your turn on the massage couch when we get home" I then commented and now it was Luke's turn to blush deeply which had us all laughing again.

"So nani are their names?" Luke then asked so as to steer the conversation in a different direction.

"You're holding Tomohiro; Taka-chan is holding Eri; and the one now groping Momoko is Youga" I commented with a laugh before holding my hands out so as to take Youga back to nurse him with little regard of the fact that Luke was in the room since I knew only Momoko could ever turn him on.

"So how is parenthood treating the two of you?" Takaaki inquired seriously.

"Rather well, though, to be completely honest, there are some days where I wish I had a little more help around the house. I mean, Luke does a large amount of the work when he's home, but it's while he's away at work that I find myself in need of the help. The only real time I have to get anything done is when they're napping, but their naps usually don't last very long. Just the other day I was ironing and was down to my last blouse when Akahana woke up and began crying; fearful that she may disturb her shimai-tachi, I ran into the room to pick her up and had to change her omutsu. Iie sooner had I settled her back down than Anzu awoke for the same thing and as soon as I finished with her, Suzuko started acting up. Needless to say, that when I got back to my ironing, my one blouse was smoldering and I quickly unplugged the iron before picking it up and taking it into the kitchen where it could cool down and my blouse was ruined. I'm just lucky that it wasn't my favorite blouse" Momoko replied while setting her head in between her hands.

"You should have told me sooner; I'd have stopped and bought you a new one" Luke told her in a disappointed tone.

"It wasn't important enough to bother you at work; I'm just glad I got back to it before a smoldering blouse could become a house-fire" Momoko replied with a shrug.

"All these things I have to look forward to" I then added in a sarcastic tone.

"Have you tried asking your parents to help you out?" Takaaki then asked of Momoko in all seriousness.

"I didn't wish to bother them either; Mom has her hands full enough with taking care of her own home let alone trying to help me out and Dad's still working" Momoko responded with a sigh.

Momoko's POV

I then sent a glance over to Miyako when I noticed her yawning and understood that she was still quite tired from her ordeal, so I turned to Luke as he set Tomohiro back down in his bassinette and said, "Well, we'd best be going now so that Miyako can get her rest."

"You don't have to leave on my account" Miyako protested while trying to rub the sleep from her eyes.

"Well, we need to be getting home to our own little ones so that their obaasan can return to her home anyways. So go ahead and get some rest, Miyako-chan, Takaaki-kun; we'll see you all later" Luke bid them as we all shared another hug and soon left out the door.

"You have three hungry mouths to feed, Momoko-chan" Mom told me as we pulled into the driveway.

With an exasperated sigh, I dismounted the motorcycle and passed my helmet to Luke while vacating inside as I unbuttoned my shirt. I was nursing Anzu and Suzuko at the same time, reverse of my normal routine, while watching Luke playing with Akahana until I was finished with the first two and passed them over to Luke and my mother while taking Akahana into my arms to let her hook up.

Once the girls had been tended to and my mother had left for home, I started to get dressed when Luke came up behind me and coerced me into the furoba where we shared a bath while making out.

Miyako's POV

I was allowed to return home by the end of the week. Takaaki and I were kept quite busy tending the boys while Takaaki was also kept busy tending the store. I nurse the boys before Takaaki would leave for work but was left on my own until he would return in the evening. I almost burned dinner that first night, but was able to save it at the last second before it would become a total disaster though it did taste a bit well-done. But we knew these were the risks that we would have to face and so we swallowed our pride and tried to handle it all like a couple of professionals.

I had taken up Momoko's suggestions and was also tending to roam around the house half dressed. Though I figured out that I could vacuum and nurse Youga at the same time as the roaring of the vacuum cleaner seemed to lull him to sleep. One day, while vacuuming, nursing Youga, and half undressed when my gibo and gifu stopped in to pay us a visit and to see their new magomusuko-tachi. You can imagine my surprise and embarrassment when I turned around after finishing the hallway and came face to face with my gifu.

As soon as I had Youga asleep in his crib, I snatched up my shirt while my cheeks were bright red and returned to the living room where I immensely apologized for my lack of decency.

"You've nothing to apologize for, Miyako-chan; we should have called first" Gibo replied in a placating tone.

"I must confess myself pleasantly surprised" Gifu noted to us and Gibo smacked him across the back of his head.

"Don't be such a hentaisha baka; besides, after nani all you've told us, I think it makes plenty of sense. And if we had been proper enough to call ahead as we were supposed to, we'd have saved you such an embarrassing moment, Miyako-chan" Gibo ridiculed him heatedly.

"Domo arigato, Gibo-chan" I said in appreciation of her words.

Takaaki soon came up the stairs for a lunch break when he was warmly welcomed by his parents who also praised him over their three, handsome magomusuko-tachi when he said, "Hey, I only did a small part of the work; Miyako-chan handled the greater majority of it."

Fortunately, his parents had decided to refrain from mentioning our initial run-in and thus spared me even more humiliation. Instead, they just further praised me in my ingenuity and of how well I was keeping the apartment cleaned.

When they left, Takaaki returned to work until around dinner time when he closed up the store for the night. He came trudging back up the stairs to find me sitting in the nursery, nursing Youga, and reading to the boys. I turned to look up into his eyes and I could see the exhaustion in his features.

"I really do wish I could help you in the store" I told him as we sat down to eat dinner together.

"I know, but you need to be here to take care of the boys" Takaaki replied with a sigh.

"Maybe we should close the store until I can return to work" I offered, though I knew that this meant closing down for a few months at least.

"Iie, I said I can handle it and I will handle it; we can't afford to close down for any length of time" Takaaki replied and I knew that he was right.

"I tell you nani; you take care of the store and I'll take care of our home and the boys" I then offered to him with a new sense of determination.

"Are you sure, Miyako-chan; that's an awful large burden you're putting upon yourself" he then informed me in uncertainty.

"Hai, I'm sure; if Momoko and Kaoru can do it, then so can I" I replied as I stood up and began to clear the table before washing the dishes.

Takaaki remained silent for a few minutes but soon came up behind me and slid his hands into my shirt while kissing me on the neck as he told me, "That's nani I love about you, Miyako-chan; you're strong sense of determination. Meet me in the shower after you put the boys down for the night."

After spending the next couple of hours making out, we slid into bed together to drift off to sleep.

Saturday morning would prove the biggest trial for both of us. We were having a sale going on at the store: all Shiri-no Janko blouses, skirts, and dresses were on sale for 50% off. Needless to say, I could hear the commotion up in our apartment and it was also keeping the boys from taking their naps. The phone kept ringing and whenever I answered, it would be a computerized commercial that I would hang up on as soon as it started talking. At one point, I answered the phone and was just about to shout at the computer when it proved to be Obaachan's retirement home calling about the last bill being late.

"Gomen nasai, but we never received the bill" I apologized to the collections office in honesty while playing with the boys; they liked to have their little feet played with. "I know that and if you'd kindly send me another bill, I'll gladly pay it. Iie, I'm not going to pay over the phone because I have iie proof that you are who you say you are. You do anything of the sort and I'll come down there and punch you in the face! Fine, send a collections agent and I can tell him that I have iie bill to pay and maybe he'll be more willing to listen to reason" I then hung up the phone on the baka.

Taking a few deep breaths to calm myself, I then collected up the boys and set them into their playpen before picking the phone back up and calling down to the store.

Takaaki's POV

I was ringing up orders as rapidly as I could when the phone began ringing and so answered it, "Gotokuji Gallery, this is Takaaki, how may I assist you? I'm a bit busy right now, Miyako-chan; can this wait until later? Nani; but we never received a bill. Great, as if we weren't having a hard enough time as it is. Iie, I'm not mad at you and you handled the situation perfectly; I'll call up the retirement center when I go on my break. Right, sayonara, Miyako-chan."

Iie sooner had I hung up the phone, the building went quiet as many concerned faces were looking at me until finally one of our customers asked, "Is everything alright with Miyako-sama?"

"It's…complicated, but Miyako herself is just fine" I answered and there was a collective release of held breaths as I got back to ringing out our customers.

After seeing the last customer to the door, I locked up and called up the retirement center to speak with the general manager; it was as Miyako had feared, someone trying to get a hold of our private information and credit card numbers.

Luke soon showed up and, even though I wasn't due to open for another half hour, I let him in. He quickly explained the reason for the visit and I helped him to find the blouse he was looking for.

"Gomen nasai, for interrupting your lunch break like this" Luke apologized to me as we were walking back to the counter.

"Don't worry about it, I needed a distraction anyways. Just do me a favor, onegai?" I replied.

"Sure, nani do you need?" Luke asked in return.

"Go up and pay Miyako a visit; she's been complaining of neck and back pains" I explained to him.

"Sounds like she needs a relaxing massage; the large part of stress tends to settle into the muscles of our necks, backs, and even our back pockets" Luke replied to me.

"Really; I had iie idea that it could tighten up the muscles of the o-shiri" I noted in surprise before seeing Luke to the back door.

Miyako's POV

I was hard at work washing the floors when there was a knock on the door. Expecting it to be the baka-tachi who tried threatening me and Obaachan, I grabbed up my broom and took up a fighting stance as I called out, "Come in."

The door opened and I swung the broom only to smack the individual in the face and now look at them in surprise while placing one hand over my mouth.

"If you greet friends this way, I can only imagine how you greet door-to-door salesmen" Luke noted while wiping his mouth and nose to be sure he was uninjured.

I dropped to my knees, sobbing and apologizing for my error when Luke reached down to pull me up to my feet and just embraced me with a light chuckle before saying, "You must really be under a lot of stress right now."

I then told him of nani had happened earlier when he picked up the phone and dialed a number before listening closely to nani it had to say before hanging it back up while telling me, "I'll take care of these guys later, right now, let's get you taken care of."

He then sat me down in a chair in front of him as he removed a small vial of massage oil from his pocket and spread it in his hands before starting to massage my neck which felt absolutely wonderful to me. At his request, I unbuttoned my shirt and pulled it down off of my shoulders while keeping my chest covered as he began to massage my shoulders.

"Arigato, Luke-sempai, I do feel better" I expressed to him once he had finished massaging my shoulders and neck.

"Doitashimashite, though I think you'd benefit from a full-bodied massage. You see, right now, every bit of stress that you are currently enduring is being held and locked up within your muscles. The best way to release it is with a proper massage" he informed me just as the boys awoke from their naps.

"Gomen nasai, but the boys are hungry" I told Luke as I excused myself from his presence for the moment.

"Do you require any assistance?" he asked of me.

"I'm indecent right now" I told him honestly.

"Okay, enough said there; I'll show myself the door, though I would like to invite you and Takaaki to come by for a visit tomorrow and you can even bring the boys" Luke replied.

"Are you sure?" I asked of him in surprise.

"Absolutely; Momoko's parents are coming over to spend time with the family and while they're there to help, I can take you to the onsen to give you a full-bodied massage" Luke continued his offer.

"I'll see you that offer and raise you with the concept of bring Takaaki and Momoko along. You can give Momoko a massage while Takaaki learns how to give me a massage" I then said as I regained my confidence and stepped out of the nursery while nursing Eri with little regard of exposing myself to him.

"That sounds like a great idea" Luke replied as he kissed me upon my forehead before leaving out the door to return home.

As per our agreement, the next day, Luke taught Takaaki how to give me a massage while demonstrating on Momoko and both of us girls were soon feeling absolutely grand. As for Akatsutsumi-san-tachi, they thoroughly enjoyed taking care of the children.

"We'll have to do this again sometime, though I think it would be a good idea to teach Miyako how to give Takaaki a massage" Momoko offered and I firmly agreed while Takaaki blushed brightly at the thought.

We then returned inside after we girls were allowed to get dressed and we soon collected up our boys to return home.

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><p><strong>Carly: You got suggestive in content again, TCW.<strong>

**TCW: Gomen nasai, but I was trying to make the chapter a bit bigger while keeping it from being dry and dull.**

**Carly: Good point, and you did keep it clean enough to maintain your rating. So nani is coming up in the next chapter?**

**Next time…**

**Kaarii, Kuriko, and Ami: It's our turn now!**

**Ken: Only why is it that Kuriko can't have our babies naturally?**

**TCW: Find out why in the next chapter.**

**Carly: All this and still a WHOLE lot more, coming soon!**

**Momoko: Just be sure to leave us some nice reviews, onegai!**


	64. Multiple Blessings

**Arigato all for the many great reviews; for this chapter we get to join Kuriko, Kaarii, and Ami as they get ready to enjoy their…**

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><p><strong>Multiple Blessings<strong>

I was visiting with Kuriko while Luke was looking after our girls when I noticed that she was about due to give birth any time now and so inquired of her, "How are you holding up, Kuriko-chan?"

"I'm okay, Oneechan, though I'd be doing a whole lot better if I had my little ones in my arms instead of in my belly" she replied while slowly settling down in a chair.

"I know how you feel. Small conciliation, I know, but Kaarii and Ami are in the same boat. I was just visiting with Kaarii this morning and she look about ready to burst" I told her with a sympathetic smile.

"You're right, that is a small conciliation" she replied sarcastically and which I just dismissed with a wave; having experienced the same some 6 months ago, I knew nani she was going through and was so able to stave off any sarcasm that either she or Kaarii would throw at me.

"Has Ken at least been helping you out any in taking care of the lab?" I then inquired of her so as to steer the conversation to another direction.

"Hai, he has in these last couple of months. Gomen nasai for my sarcasm, Oneechan" Kuriko replied apologetically.

"Don't worry about it; I've been in your predicament before, remember?" I replied in remembrance of my own ordeal.

"Hai, I remember; arigato for being so understanding" she then replied appreciatively.

"Doitashimashite, Kuriko-chan" I returned with a gentle smile before turning to watch as Peach jumped up into one of the chairs between us and gave pause to sniff Kuriko. "Nani is wrong, Peach?"

"Wan, the babies are coming soon, da-wan" Peach replied as he turned to look at me with a bright smile on his little robotic face.

"Probably not for another week or so, though" Kuriko replied as she began to struggle to rise back up when her eyes shot wide open and her face went blank as she gave pause to send a fearful look down at the floor beneath her.

"I know that look; come on, Kuriko-chan, you've got to breathe" I told her as I began coaching her while Peach took off like a shot for the lab.

Ken came running into the room soon after while removing his gloves and lab coat and pulling his cell phone out to call for an ambulance.

Josh's POV

Kaarii was out in the front of the store taking care of a group of customers who were ordering a lot of items. Once she had finished up, cashed them out, and they left, Kaarii sat down on a stool to get off her feet while Clemintina began fanning her with her wings.

"Domo arigato, Clemintina-chan, that feels a lot better" Kaarii expressed to her appreciatively.

"Doitashimashite, Mom" Clemintina replied as she turned to see Kaarii rise up and turn to the sink to get a drink of water.

The door's bell chimed and both of them turned to see Kaarii's mother enter the store to check up on her daughter.

"Kaarii-chan, you look a mess" her mother informed her more in concern than of critical purposes.

"Un, well, iie rest for the weary" I heard Kaarii reply with a sigh that ended up as a yawn.

"True, but if you don't get some rest, you could wind up hurting not only yourself, but your children, too" her mother cautioned gently.

"Don't *yawn* worry, Mom; I'll be taking a nice long rest before you know it" Kaarii replied tiredly as she began to doze off while sitting in a chair but her eyes soon shot open as she slowly glanced down.

"I think Mama had an accident, Daddy" Sherbet told me as she entered the back area to retrieve a mop.

I set down the spatula I was using to spread frosting on top of a cake and dashed to the front of the store to check up on Kaarii; it was as I had thought: her water broke. Jumping up, I grabbed a hold of my car keys and ran out the back door to drive the car around to the front of the store.

"Permission to come with you" Gibo inquired of me and I nodded my head in agreement.

"Clemintina, Sherbet, onegai, lock and clean up once we leave; nothing fancy, just get it done as quickly as possible and don't worry about washing the dishes. When you're done, head over to Luke's place and let him know nani is happening; he and Momoko have already agreed to look after you for us" I quickly told our Sweets Spirits as I led Kaarii out the door with her mother helping us and got her into the car.

Once done, I let her mother climb into the backseat before slipping behind the wheel and we took off for the hospital.

Clemintina's POV

I hovered at the door, watching and waving as Mom and Dad left for the hospital before locking the door. Turning around, I saw Sherbet writing out a note for us to tape to the door saying that we were temporarily closed.

I then flew off to the back and began to collect up the dishes and put them into the sink which I then filled up with hot water and a few drops of soap. This done, I then turned to the cake Dad had been working on and capped the frosting container before taking up the cake and putting it into the display case even though it was only half finished.

When I returned to the front, Sherbet was finishing up the sweeping and so I turned off the lights before flying over to the cash register, turned it off, and locked it as well.

"Aren't we supposed to tally the receipts up?" Sherbet asked as she landed beside me.

"That's something only Mom and Dad can handle; besides, you heard nani Dad said, 'Nothing fancy, just get it done as quickly as possible'. Now, let me grab the backup key to the front door and then we'll go see Luke-san" I told Sherbet as I flew up the stairs to get the backup key before returning to the main floor and we left out the backdoor.

Once we had securely closed the door and I locked it with the backup key, we then flew off towards Luke-san's home to find him getting ready to leave.

"Luke-sama, wait up!" Sherbet called out and Luke turned to look at the two of us with a smile while he was locking up the massage center.

"Let me guess, Kaarii's gone into labor, too" Luke noted to us as we landed upon his shoulder.

"I don't know nani anything about labor, but she is about to have her babies" Sherbet replied and I just face-palmed myself in disbelief.

"Sherbet-chan, that's nani Luke-san means by Mom's going into labor" I told her in exasperation.

"Patience, Clemintina-chan, not everyone understands some terminology and I'm sure it doesn't help that, as Sweets Spirits, you don't have children of your own" Luke then gently chastised me and I bowed my head in acceptance of his reply. "But right now, I need you two to slip into my helmet so that you don't get windblown."

It was a snug fit, but we just fit. Luke started his motorcycle and we were soon driving away, though Sherbet and I were lulled to sleep by the thrum of the engine. Our nap was short lived as Luke was soon waking us as we had arrived, of all places, at the hospital.

Once he had removed his helmet, I turned to ask of him, "Nani are we doing here; Dad said that you'd be watching after us."

"I know, and I will; but I'm also here to be with Momoko and her parents since Kuriko's in labor, too" he replied as we were directed to land inside of each of his pockets.

"Oh, then who's looking after your little girls, Luke-sama?" inquired Sherbet politely.

"My shimai, Isamu, while letting Kanta look after their boys" Luke informed us just before entering the hospital and so we all fell silent.

Ami's POV

Pazu and I were working on a patient together when I suddenly felt the need to sit down in spite of the strange looks be sent to me by the patient.

"Are you alright, Kangofu-sensei?" inquired the patient of me while Pazu was giving him an injection.

"I'm not sure…sumimasen!" I replied as I ran out of the room, trying to reach the oteari in time, but failing as suddenly, my water broke.

"Oh dear; hang on, Ami-chan! Someone bring me a wheelchair and get Pazu-isha out here now!" called out one of my coworkers as she came up behind me so as to help keep me on my feet until a custodian arrived with a wheelchair for me to sit in.

Pazu soon came running up and was quickly filled in while I was being transported up to the maternity ward on the tenth floor. We were inside the elevator when my pager started beeping and Pazu looked down at it before pulling out his cell phone and dialing the number on the pager.

"Hai, gomen nasai, but I'm afraid that Ami, Michiko, and I are iie longer available. Because we're on our way to the maternity ward; hai, just a few minutes ago. Arigato for understanding, sayonara" Pazu said into his cell phone as the elevator dinged and announced that we had arrived on the tenth floor.

"Ami-chan; are you alright?" I heard a familiar voice call out and turned to see Luke jogging over to us.

I started to reply, but almost doubled up in pain as the first full contraction hit me and I heard him say, "Uh-oh, looks like Kaarii and Kuriko aren't the only ones about to give birth."

Luke then stepped away to allow me to be wheeled to a delivery room where I was helped out of my uniform and into a gown before being set up on the delivery table with Pazu behind me as he whispered sweet and reassuring words into my ear.

Momoko's POV

I was sitting in the waiting room feeling a little worried for Kuriko as she had just been taken to an operating room to have something called a C-section when I heard someone enter the waiting room. Glancing up in hopes of seeing one of my folks, I spotted Luke instead. I jumped up and ran over to and wrapped my arms around him in a tight hug.

"Is everything alright?" he asked of me and I pulled back far enough so as to look him in the eyes and told him nani was going on.

"Luke, nani is a C-section?" I asked of him with tears in my eyes.

"It's a shorter way of saying a cesarean, a type of operation that is performed upon a mother so as to remove the children safely in any one of a number of events" Luke explained to me.

"But couldn't she have given birth to them as she had originally planned?" I asked feeling even more concerned for my imoto.

"Well, like I said, there could be any one a number of things going on that would require such an operation to be performed. It's probably something minor like the opening in the pelvic bone not being wide enough for the infant's head to pass through" Luke informed me in a reassuring manner that prompted me to relax as we sat down together.

Wiping the tears from my eyes, I nodded my head in acceptance when I noticed to little concerned faces looking up at me from Luke's pockets. Sherbet turned to send Clemintina a questioning look to which she silently replied by shrugging her shoulders.

"Let me guess, Kaarii's here too?" I then inquired of Luke and all three of them nodded their heads in confirmation of my suspicion.

"So is Ami" Luke then added quietly and I looked at him in surprise.

"Eight babies born and all in one day, sugoi!" I then exclaimed in astonishment.

Just then Mom, Dad, and Ken entered the waiting room with tired looks on their faces but still managing light smiles.

"All is well?" Luke inquired of them.

"Hai both of Kuriko's babies are doing just fine" Dad replied with a contented sigh.

"How's Kuriko doing?" I asked in concern of my imoto's well-being.

"Kuriko is doing just fine and is currently asleep while in post-op; she'll be moved to a maternity suite once they're sure she won't have any complications from the surgery" Ken told me and, despite the tears trailing down my cheeks, I managed to smile in return.

"You were scared of losing your imoto, weren't you, Momoko-chan?" Mom asked as she gave me a hug and I couldn't help but start crying upon her shoulder.

"Does anyone know how Mama's doing?" asked Sherbet of us quietly.

"Iie, Sherbet-chan; I didn't even know she was here" Dad answered for all of us.

"Sherbet just looked down inside of Luke's pocket and soon turned her face to look up into Luke's eyes in concern.

"I tell you nani; we'll go ask in just a moment" Luke offered her and she nodded her head in agreement.

"Go on ahead, Luke; we'll wait for you to come back before leaving to visit with Kuriko" Mom told him while continuing hugging me.

"Daijobu, I'll be back as soon as possible" Luke said as he walked up to me and kissed me on the cheek before turning and leaving out the door.

Luke's POV

Stepping out into the hallway, I quietly approached the kangofu-tachi's station where I was asked if I needed any help.

"Hai, I'm wondering if you can tell me anything about Jones Kaarii and Mizatama Ami; they may still be in delivery" I requested of the kangofu who was looking at me.

"And you are…?" she then requested of me in a cautious manner.

"Oniichan; nani are you doing here?" I heard Kaarii ask while walking around the corner and still quite pregnant.

"Hey, Kaarii-chan, a certain someone was concerned about how you were doing. How are you holding up?" I said as she approached me while in a hospital gown.

She smiled at me while subtly waving to Clemintina and Sherbet while replying, "I'd be doing a lot better if my babies were in my arms instead of inside me. I've heard that Ami is here as well; any idea as to how she's doing?"

"I was just inquiring that of the receptionist when you came around the corner" I replied while giving Kaarii a hug so as to allow the Sweets Spirits to hug her as well.

"May we know how Mizatama Ami is doing; she's our shimai" Kaarii requested of the woman behind the desk.

"Let me look…according to this she's currently in recovery and is about to be moved to a maternity suite" the receptionist informed us and we nodded our heads in understanding.

I was about to request as to which room Ami was in when Kaarii almost dropped to the floor with a contraction so that I had to jump in to help keep her up on her feet. Another kangofu grabbed a hold of a wheelchair to take Kaarii back to her room, but given circumstances, it seemed to me as though she was going to give birth right here at the counter, so I picked her up in my arms and dashed her back to the delivery room with the kangofu leading running just ahead of me so as to make sure the path was clear.

As soon as I set her down, kangofu-sensei began checking her before quickly saying to me, "We don't have much time; I'm going to need you to help me and Kaarii here!"

Before I could make a reply, Kaarii had to bear down in with the next contraction and I saw the baby's head come out and I turned to Kaarii to coach her, "Easy now, try not to push; your body has to turn the baby."

The first baby was out when Josh and Kaarii's isha came into the room and sent both kangofu-sensei and me questioning looks and all I said to Josh was, "Would you onegai come over here and let your lovely wife squeeze the feeling out of your hand before she cuts off my circulation entirely?"

Josh took my place and isha-sensei took kangofu-sensei's place, leaving her to attend the first child while isha-sensei insisted on my remaining to offer further help as the rest of the kangofu-tachi were busy in other rooms.

The second child, a girl this time, was born with little effort on Kaarii's part, but the third one proved a bit more difficult; it was a breached birth. Fortunately, the last child, another little girl, was born without any further complications, though she was obviously the smallest of the three.

I was soon allowed to rejoin Momoko in the waiting room where I practically fell into the chair beside her as she inquired of me, "Where have you been; I was getting concerned."

"Gomen nasai, but when I went to inquire of Ami, I met up with Kaarii who almost began delivering while at the receptionist's desk. I then carried her back to her room along with her kangofu and as soon as we arrived she began to deliver her first born. I was in hopes of being able to leave once her isha arrived, but instead I was asked to remain to continue lending a hand" I explained to Momoko.

"Is she alright?" Momoko then asked in concern.

"Hai, she's fine; she and her three little ones, two girls and a boy, are all napping right now" I replied as I gave her a hug.

Momoko and I were soon summoned to visit with Ami and so followed the kangofu to Ami's room where she was sitting up and nursing her two boys, Benjirou and Hyosuke, while Pazu held their one little girl, Chikako.

When we left to allow Ami to get some further rest, Kaarii was beckoning to us from her room where she happily introduced us to Hikari, Kaede, and her one son, Hotaka; Hikari was the smallest.

Momoko's POV

Finally, we were allowed to visit with Kuriko and her two children, Kumiko and Kouji.

"How are you feeling?" I asked of Kuriko.

"Still a little tired from the anesthesia, but otherwise my only complaint is of the pain from my incision" Kuriko replied lightly while nursing both of her children.

"Well, I think I can take care of that problem once you finish nursing" Luke offered and she nodded her head in agreement.

Once she had finished nursing and had passed Kumiko to me and Kouji to his father, Luke transformed into Solar Blade. With little concern of exposing herself to him, Kuriko removed her gown so as to allow Blade access to her incision just as Kuriko's kangofu-sensei entered the room.

"Oh my!" the woman exclaimed as she watched as Blade's hand began glowing before he set it over her incision.

When Blade removed his hand, Kuriko's incision had not only been completely healed, but her stitches were gone and she was feeling a lot better. Blade then smiled at her as he helped her to sit up so as to re-cover her with her gown.

"Arigato, Oniichan; I feel a whole lot better now" Kuriko expressed to him appreciatively.

"I'm glad I could help" Blade replied as they shared a hug.

"It's too bad that they can't come up with a device that can do the same as your healing technique, Blade-sama; we'd be able to have a lot more patients back up on their feet in iie time" Kuriko's kangofu-sensei said with a polite bow to Blade as we turned to leave.

Returning home, we checked up on Isamu, who was napping in the playpen with her mei-tachi, and then permitted Sherbet and Clemintina to also take a much needed nap while Luke and I returned to our own room where we decided to throw caution to the wind and made love to each other until we heard the first small cry coming from the first floor. We dressed and returned to the first floor where Luke and I expressed our appreciation to Isamu and told her of our adventure at the hospital.

Isamu then excused herself as she wanted to go check up on Ami, also. We saw her to the door and shared a hug and a kiss with her before returning inside to tend to our own girls. After sharing a hot bath and getting the girls dried off, diapered, and dressed in their footie-pajamas, we set them down for the night before turning around and slipping into the small bed together to make further love to one another.

A couple of weeks later, we girls all met up at the lab together since our menfolk were tending our babies and we all decided to use the opportunity to go skinny dipping in the pool; we didn't even flinch when we learned of Kaoru's and Isamu's secrets of being mermaids.

"Now I see why you enjoy this so much, Kaarii-chan; it's fun" Miyako chimed happily while we were lying out in the sun to get warm.

"Hai, well I'm just glad that Kuriko had this tall privacy fencing set up around the pool or I would never consider doing this" Kaarii noted with a smile.

"And we even made sure to use an environmentally safe filtration system that doesn't use chlorine just so that we all could enjoy the pool. Not to mention that it also has a built in heating system so that we could also enjoy the water in the winter" Kuriko added with a grin.

"True, but I bet the boys would love to be with us all right now" mentioned Ami with a blush in her cheeks.

Onegai…I just got out of the hospital; I don't have any wish to go back anytime soon" complained Kaarii and we all broke out laughing before donning our bathrobes so as to return inside where we got dressed.

"Tell me about it; the food was just awful" complained Ami with a grimace.

"I know, whoever taught those people how to cook, needs to be sent to St. Marie's Academy" Kaarii said in full agreement.

"So, shall we go and reprieve our men, or should we let them continue watching over the girls for a while longer?" inquired Kaoru while lying back in her underwear.

"Are you suggesting getting manicures, pedicures, and maybe even our hair done?" inquired Isamu as she was dressing while not wearing her underclothes.

Kaoru nodded her head in confirmation as she sat up and also began getting dressed while I replied, "That all does sound quite nice, but as for me, I'm returning home for a nice massage."

"Let me guess: your Mom's watching over the triplets and so you're going to take it to your advantage to enjoy all three types of massage that Luke knows?" inquired Miyako smartly.

"Guilty as charged" I confessed while blushing brightly and giggling which they all, too, soon shared in.

"It must be nice having a massage therapist in the family" noted Kaarii with a smile.

"I must concur; when Luke came over to give me a shoulder massage, I almost wanted him to remove the rest of my clothes to continue further" noted Miyako with a smile as she remembered how good it had felt.

"Un, I remember when he gave me both a foot and leg massage while I was still pregnant; it felt so good, I can only imagine how a full bodied massage would feel" Kaoru replied while also smiling.

"It feels fantastic, believe me" Kuriko told all of them in honesty.

"Well, Luke may be a little irked with me for doing it, but nani the hey; here girls" I said to them while passing out coupons for free massages, one for each of them.

"Are you sure you don't want to come with us for Mani's and Pedi's, Momoko-chan?" asked Ami in uncertainty.

"She's sure, trust me" Kaoru, Miyako, and Kuriko all replied for me in unison.

"Daijobu then" Ami replied as she and the others headed out the door to their favorite salon while I returned home for my massage.

Later that night, Luke gave me a pedicure along with a foot massage while I talked with the girls over the phone about how we had enjoyed the remainder of the day once we had separated; theirs had not been nearly as enjoyable as mine, but they still had a pleasant time.

"It's too bad you missed out on the pedicures, Momoko; there was this new guy who really knew how to make it almost pleasurable" noted Isamu with all of the other girls agreeing with her wholeheartedly.

"Maybe, but I'm getting a pedicure and foot massage courtesy of my husband" I told them all with a smile.

"A foot massage, too; that definitely trumps our pedicures" they all replied dejectedly.

"Well, there is some good news to brighten your evenings. Luke is expecting Kaarii, Miyako, and Kaoru, tomorrow for your first massages. Ami, Isamu, and Kuriko are due in the next day" I reported to them and they all cheered delightedly before hanging up and we all turned in for the night.

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><p><strong>Carly: Well sounds like a wonderful way to end a chapter if you ask me.<strong>

**TCW: Domo arigato, Carly-chan.**

**Carly: So nani is in store for the next chapter?**

**Next time…**

**Momoko: Come learn a little more about each of our children.**

**Ami: Their likes and dislikes.**

**Kaoru: The trouble they like to get into.**

**Kuriko: The parent they seem to favor.**

**Kaarii: And much, much more!**

**TCW: All this and still even more coming soon.**

**Momoko and Carly: Just be sure to leave us some nice reviews, onegai!**


	65. Meet the Children

**Arigato all for the many great reviews! We will be ending Part 6 with this next chapter, so let us all get ready to…**

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><p><strong>Meet the Children<strong>

As time marched on, we all began to learn a lot about our own children. For me and Luke: Akahana was proving to be more my little girl while Anzu seemed to favor Luke; Suzuko was a firm believer in share the wealth. I was sitting in the living room while Luke was exercising when I noticed Anzu crawl up beside him and performed pushups alongside him as best she could; rising and lowering her front end. When done, Luke turned to look at her as she looked at him and he snatched her up in his arms to play and tickle her.

Akahana tended to shadow me while also trying to be the first one to attempt anything. I was crawling around on the floor trying to find a toy that had gotten away from the girls and the next thing I knew she was up on all fours crawling around beside me. She saw me brushing my hair one morning and so picked up a toy hairbrush and tried brushing her own hair until I picked her up, set her in my lap, and began brushing her hair for her.

Suzuko was one where if she couldn't be with me, she was with her father, and if she couldn't be with him, she was with me; she hated being left alone. She was also the one that concerned her shonikai* the most due to the fact that her irises were white; however, Suzuko proved that she could see when Luke asked her to point to her mama and she indicated me.

Akahana proved to be a beautiful strawberry-blond of mid-length; Anzu was a shoulder-length raven-hair; while Suzuko was a long, luxurious white. Akahana had had purple eyes while Anzu had crimson eyes that sparkled when she was happy but blazed when she was angry. But, with our girls we had it rather easy; I just wish I could say the same for poor Kaoru.

Kaoru's POV

Life was never a dull moment with our girls as they were almost always finding ways to sneak out of the condo and literally into the aquarium. The first time, I found little Lucia playing in the touch-tank just before we opened and had to snatch her up out of the water and rushed her back into the condo where I dried and dressed her despite the pout on her little face.

Later that afternoon, Rikiya found Noelle swimming around the stage-tank where Akihiro and I had originally performed our little play for the guests. He dove in after her and took hold of her so as to return to the surface where he passed her over to me just before any guests had arrived to gaze into the tank at the giant clam.

At least when we found Rina, she was using the edge of the shark tank to hold herself up while she growled at the sharks until the giant stingray rose up from the bottom of the aquarium and swam off to bury itself back in the sand a little further away. Seeing the stingray suddenly appear out of the sand startled her so that she let go of the aquarium's edge and fell back hard onto her little o-shiri. I grabbed her up and began to comfort her before returning her to the condo.

"Honestly, girls, if you don't quit playing in the tanks of the aquarium, someone is bound to spy you swimming in there and will raise an alert that would turn you into test subjects and I don't want that" I fussed at the girls while holding them in the o-furo later that evening; whether they understood or not, I would never know.

Later that night as Rikiya and I were just getting ready to slide into bed together, he told me, "Well, you really can't blame them for wanting to be in the water; they are mermaids after all."

"I know, but I worry about someone trying to turn them into lab rats or dissect them" I told Rikiya while trying and failing to keep the tears from falling.

"I know, but maybe we can come up with some way of letting them play in the tanks with the animals and keep them safe" Rikiya told me as he gave me a comforting hug.

"That's asking a bit much, if you ask me; I mean, someone could still spot them iie matter how careful we are" I replied in concern of my babies.

"Maybe we should ask Aqua Regina for some advice" Rikiya suggested and even I had to give that some thought.

The next morning, while eating breakfast with our girls, Rikiya was drawing up some plans to rework a section of the aquarium, namely the tank with the giant clam inside of it and the show tank. After breakfast, he helped me in getting the girls ready to go see their shonikai and place them into their stroller which was long enough to fit all three girls; Noelle, the most outgoing one, sat in the front with Rina just behind her while Lucia sat in the very back since she was the smallest.

On the way, I met up with Miyako who was also having her issues with her boys.

Miyako's POV

I really envied Momoko and Kaoru as they had girls while I had three rambunctious boys. Not to say they were bad or anything, but they were always on the move once they learned how to crawl. And changing their diapers was an adventure of its own; on average I went through two blouses a day. Of course whenever we had an accident, they did look at me apologetically, so I would just heave a sigh, finish changing them, and then change my blouse. And bath-time was another adventure, Eri and Youga enjoyed getting bathed while Tomohiro was always trying to escape; fortunately a wet baby can't crawl very well on ceramic tiling.

The few times they were absolutely quiet, other than when sleeping, was whenever Momoko and I were visiting and she had her girls with her. If I didn't know better, I'd have sworn her girls were flirting with my boys, but that's not really possible at their young age. When they did mingle and play together, it wouldn't take the boys long until they were trying to hide behind me.

We were on our way to an appointment with the boys' shonikai when I met up with Kaoru and so inquired, "Ohayo, Kaoru-chan! How are you and your girls this morning?"

"Ohayo, Miyako-chan; we're doing rather well, though right now we're trying to come up with a way to let the girls swim safely in the aquarium since we're having such a hard time of keeping them out of the water" Kaoru replied with a light smile before going into full detail on her concerns.

"Hmm, have you talked to Luke about it? I'm planning on speaking with him a little later on my own problem" I asked before explaining my problem to her.

"Makes me glad I had girls" Kaoru commented while trying to keep from laughing.

"Have you heard from any of the other girls on how they're getting along with their little ones?" I then asked so as to steer the conversation in a different direction.

"Well, I did see Isamu and her boys yesterday, but otherwise iie" Kaoru replied before sharing her encounter with me.

Isamu's POV

After an appointment with the boys' shonikai, I decided to reward the good behavior with a visit to the aquarium as they all seemed interested in marine life. While gazing up at the giant whale sharks, we were soon approached by Kaoru who greeted me with a smile before kneeling down to hug each of my boys in turn.

"I'm on my way back to the condo; why don't you join me for a cup of tea, Isamu-chan?" Kaoru invited me.

"Sure, I could use a drink" I accepted eagerly and we returned to her condo where we found her three girls trying to find a way to sneak out.

"How many times do I have to tell you girls, 'Iie playing in the aquarium; it isn't safe'?" Kaoru asked of her trio as they looked up at her dejectedly.

Once she had her three girls back inside of the condo, I released my three boys to play with them, though I could have sworn I saw her girls starting to flirt with my boys and I became a bit curious.

"I suppose anything is possible. Momoko said that while visiting with Miyako that they thought her girls were flirting with Miyako's boys" Kaoru noted to me after I brought it to her attention.

"I'd best start coaching them in chivalry once they start walking" I noted with a sigh, though we couldn't help but follow them when they all began to crawl off towards the furoba.

"Gomen nasai, but there will be iie bathing while we're having guests" Kaoru firmly told her girls as she picked Lucia up out of the tub as she struggled to turn on the faucet.

"Come on, boys, we need to be getting home anyways; it's almost your naptime" I announced while gently clapping my hands together to get their attention.

They obediently followed me back out into the living room while Kaoru set her girls down for their naps, but was still able to see me to the door. We parted with a hug and I soon left for home.

As soon as I set them down for their naps, the phone rang and I answered it to hear Ami's voice.

Ami's POV

I had just set my three down for their naps when I decided to call up Isamu to see how she was doing, "Gomen nasai to bother you, Isamu-chan; but I wanted to see how you were doing."

"I'm doing rather well, arigato. I just put the boys down for their naps after paying a visit to Kaoru and her girls" Isamu replied with a light yawn.

"Oh and how are they doing?" I then inquired of her.

"They're doing well, though I think Kaoru's girls were flirting with my boys. They even led the boys to the furoba where Lucia was trying to turn the water on" Isamu replied with a light chuckle.

"You're going to have to watch out for them then. But is it really possible for ones so young to actually flirt?" I replied in curiosity.

"I don't know, but nani I do know is nani I saw and I saw them flirting with my boys" Isamu said in return.

"I guess anything's possible" I said with a light giggle.

"So how are you, my oi-tachi and my mei?" Isamu then inquired of me.

"I'm fine and Hyosuke and Benjirou are turning into perfect little gentlemen; when Chikako wants a toy that is out of her reach, they jump right to work on trying to find a way to get it for her…though sometimes I'm required to get the broom to sweep it out from under a piece of furniture" I informed her while smiling down at my little ones, the boys curled up with their imoto between them so as to keep her safe and warm. "Have you heard on how Kaarii's doing?"

"Iie, not yet, but I'm going to be stopping in at the Patisserie tomorrow morning" Isamu informed me and we were soon hanging up as our little ones were waking up.

Momoko's POV

While Luke was in the furoba giving the girls their baths, Karri called to talk with me, "Konbonwa, gomen nasai for bothering you at this hour, Momoko-chan, but I haven't heard from anyone else on the team for quite a while."

"Don't worry about it; I'm waiting for Luke to finish bathing the girls before we head out to the onsen for a little private time" I told her.

"I'll try to be quick then" Kaarii replied.

"Like I said, don't worry about it; so how are you and your little ones doing?" I inquired of her with a light giggle.

"Kaede and Hotaka are doing alright, but I'm a little concerned about Hikari; she still hasn't learned how to crawl" Kaarii informed me.

"It sounds to me like she's going to be a late bloomer then, but it's perfectly natural for at least one child to be that way" I told her in a reassuring manner.

"I suppose, I mean, that's nani her shonikai told me and if you're saying it too, then I can only imagine it must be true" Kaarii said with a sigh.

"How are Sherbet and Clemintina handling the whole concept of you're having children now?" I asked of her curiously.

"Clemintina is being a real sport and even helps us out, but Sherbet is getting a bit insecure as to whether or not Josh and I still want her to think of herself as being our little girl as well as Josh's partner. Naturally we keep telling her that we do, but she still seems rather uncertain about it. I'm thinking that she and Josh may need to spend some quality, alone-time together so as to help reassure her that she still means a lot to us" Kaarii told me and I was nodding my head in agreement.

"That makes perfect sense to me" I told her in encouragement.

"Arigato; so have you heard on how Kuriko is getting along with her two?" Kaarii then inquired of me.

"Hai, I was visiting with her earlier today" I replied before going into detail on our visit.

Kuriko's POV

It was becoming quite obvious as to how my children were going to grow and develop. Kumiko was going to be quite smaller than Kouji, but something told me she was going to be the adventurist as she loved looking up at the stars at night. Whenever it was cloudy or stormy, she would throw a fit until I came into the room to rock her to sleep. Kouji, on the other hand, was going to be more of your down-to-earth type as he was showing more interest in playing with Peach than anything.

Though I will be the first to admit that having Peach in the lab was a major help as he would watch over the babies while I was able to step out of the room for any one of a number of reasons ranging from washing the dishes, to taking a nap, to tending the laundry, and on up to spending some intimate time with Ken.

Though it would be Momoko who would tell me that I had it easy with only two children and having Peach as a helper; I knew she was right.

When Momoko came over to visit, I greeted her warmly, though tiredly since I wasn't able to sleep all night due to a thunderstorm and Kumiko's fussing about it.

"That must be rough. It makes me thankful that my girls sleep soundly even during the most storms" Momoko confessed to me.

"Lucky you; I just wish I could think of a way to keep Kumiko happy during bad weather" I replied a little sarcastically.

"Say, I remember seeing in a catalog that they make these little projectors that you can set up on a table and that will turn any room into a virtual planetarium; I wonder if that would help" Momoko commented after thinking on it for a few minutes.

"At this point, I'm willing to try anything" I replied with a yawn.

"I tell you nani; you take a nap while Peach and I take care of the kids. I'll even call Ken and inform him of my discovery and let him take it from there" Momoko offered me and I nodded my head in agreement before heading into the lounge to take a nap.

Ken had returned home from delivering a lecture at the local college and carried in his arms the very same projector that Momoko had mentioned. Sneaking off into a center room, we turned off the lights and Ken activated the projector and turned the room into a planetarium; I became quite hopeful.

Later that night, it began raining again and so I set the projector up on a table and, just as Kumiko was about to get fussy, I activated the device. The room lit up with stars, planets, moons, and asteroids, all in their proper places, and Kumiko giggled and squealed happily while reaching up to the objects in delight. After a few minutes of stargazing, Kumiko gave a wide yawn and soon turned over to fall asleep.

Momoko's POV

We met up at the park one day and all shared in how we had finally found solutions to our problems. Takaaki had purchased a plastic apron for Miyako to wear while changing her boys. Rikiya had found a way to let their girls swim with some of the other animals by converting one of the show tanks into a play area for Kaoru, their little mermaids, and Akihiro to enjoy. Kuriko told me of how well the planetarium project was working for Kumiko. Even Sherbet was iie longer feeling insecure of herself as she was now thinking of herself as being oneesan to Kaarii's children.

Of course, there was one small question that nagged at all of us from the back of our minds and that wouldn't be answered for few more years to come: Would any of our children inherit the ability to become Powerpuffs? Kaoru would learn the answer to that question first.

Kaoru's POV

It was a quiet day as we were closed to allow all of the tanks to be cleaned when I decided to take the girls, who had recently celebrated their fifth birthday, out into the water of the observation center for a swim. It always amazed me how when we became mermaids, Lucia's hair would go from a short auburn to a long blond. She tended to be a salmon pink in her mermaid form with a matching bikini top; Kaori would become purple with a purple bikini top; Rina would turn blue with matching bikini top; and as for myself, I'd turn green but with a matching seashell-bra. I'd seen Isamu as a mermaid once before and she was more of a lime with a matching seashell-bra as well.

Akihiro was being permitted to join us which would prove quite helpful as we had an unknown and unwelcomed visitor in the water with us.

I was sitting up on a couple of rocks when I noticed my three pass by me in nani I first perceived as a game of chase until I saw the large, dark grey fin cutting through the surface of the water and it was most certainly not Akihiro.

I dove into the water and reached down for my compact when I remembered that, as a mermaid, I iie longer wore it there, but was instead now a shell-shaped necklace. I flipped it open and called out, "Powered Buttercup" only nothing happened. I then remember that I was a mermaid and that my transformation was probably activated in a different manner, so I called out, "Green Pearl Voice" and thus began a whole new transformation.

I was now back in my human form, but I retained my mermaid abilities and instead of my original uniform, I now wore a green mini-skirt that just came up over my knees, a green bikini that displayed my midriff, and the green diamonds that I used to wear were now cone shell shaped, and instead of my normal gauntlets, I now wore tight fitting elbow-length green gloves that were also fingerless.; I was just glad that I still had my rings upon my hand.. I summoned forth my hammer, but instead, was now a trident.

"Great, of all times to learn that I have a new Powerpuff form and a new weapon" I thought to myself as I tried to swim after my babies and the great white shark that was pursuing them.

I soon found my girls trying to hide from the shark and threw my trident at the shark only to miss and swore at myself. The shark turned tail and began to chase after me now and I glanced back to notice that while I iie longer wore my normal shoes, I now wore water socks that seemed to be able to propel me through the water at a decent speed, however, that shark was still gaining on me.

I swam over to some hard corals and hovered in place for a second and then shot up out of the shark's way but it seemed to predict my move as it quickly altered its course to make a grab for me, fortunately there was one difference between the two of us: I could fly. I shot up out of the water and continued on up while the shark made a turn to dive back into the water since it had missed me…only now it was after my girls again.

When I dove down into the water, I noticed my girls were dressed similarly to me, but in their own colors, and with weapons upon their sides that they didn't know how to use either. Lucia broke off from her shimai to try swimming over to me but the shark turned and was now bearing down upon her. The jaws of the creature opened as it was nearing her and I just clasped my hand over my mouth as I stared on in horror as my baby was about to be eaten before my eyes.

There was a fierce screech from underneath us and I turned to watch as Akihiro, now in his other form, shot up and slammed his head into the shark's body from underneath, sent it rocketing up out of the water, and in one massive gulp, swallowed the shark whole.

Breathing a sigh of relief I caught Lucia in my arms and clutched her close to me as she broke out crying; her shimai soon approached and I also reached out to take hold of them before returning to the surface and to sit up on dry land. Rikiya soon came running over as he and the others had seen the whole thing and after checking to make sure we were alright, he walked over to Akihiro and gave him a hug.

Later on, after getting the girls back in their normal forms and settled down for a nap, I called up Isamu to tell her of my discoveries and, though in quiet shock after hearing of nani all had happened, she replied that she understood. I then called up Luke and told him the same story.

Needless to say, when everyone came over to check up on us, I had another good cry while both Rikiya and Luke comforted me while Isamu was more interested in learning of our new abilities; understandable when one considers that she, too, is a mermaid and so thus her powers had probably also changed.

Once we were all feeling up to it, we went to the show tank where we girls dove in and soon after transformed into our new identities. I had my trident, Isamu now had a harpoon, Rina had a pair of sais, Kaori had a fighting staff, and Lucia had a metal battle-fan.

Through it all, however, our greatest relief was knowing that they were all safe, but for some reason, Lucia seemed to be shying away from Luke and me for unknown reasons.

We all soon left for the day to return home to get some sleep. However, we all couldn't help but feel concerned when a dark ominous feeling began to fill us…as though…a demonic force the likes of which we had never faced before was about to rear its horrific head.

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><p><strong>Carly: You sure know how to make an exciting ending for a chapter, TCW.<strong>

**TCW: It was a bit exciting, wasn't it?**

**Carly: Hai, though I'm not too sure how to feel on that darker ending on this one, either.**

**Momoko: At least it makes for a nice lead up to Part 7.**

**Carly: So nani is in store for Part 7 and the next chapter?**

**Next time, in Part 7…**

**Luke: We're in for a fight of epic proportions.**

**Momoko: I just hope we can all meet the challenge.**

**Kaarii: But nani about the children?**

**Kaoru: We may need to make sacrifices to beat them.**

**TCW: Get ready for an action-packed section featuring battles with three demons.**

**Carly and Momoko: All this and a whole lot more still to come!**

**Momoko: Just be sure to leave us all some nice reviews while you wait, onegai!**


	66. Part 7 & The Return of Kare

**As I'm sure you'll be able to tell by the title of this next part, things are finally going to get serious. And now, for that moment many of you have been waiting for, here's…**

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><p><strong>Part 7: The Reign of Darkness<strong>

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><p><strong>The Return of Kare<strong>

Little to our knowledge, a large amount of dark energy was shooting off towards a dark, frozen moon of Neptune. There, it searched and searched for another mass of dark energy that was enveloped by white energy and began to take on the form of a power drill and began to drill into the light until it finally succeeded in breaking through and shattering away the white energy as the two dark energies gathered together and quickly shot off back towards Earth. The white energy followed.

Kaoru's POV

The girls and I were enjoying the large aquarium together when the giant clam opened once again to reveal Aqua Regina's image standing before us. The girls quickly hid behind me while peering over and around me in concern of this newcomer as I hovered in the water waiting to hear her latest bit of news.

"I have come as a bearer of grave news" she told me and I swallowed hard.

"Nani is wrong?" I asked of Regina.

Her image vanished and took on the appearance of an undersea world as she explained further, "Where once we had all lived in peace, there was a demon that always threatened our peacefulness. It was a demon of epic proportions: a true destroyer of land and sea, we not its name but had taken to referring to the monster as Kaosu. However, it was not alone. Kaosu was always being followed by his two lesser demons, Kare and Kanojo. Kare predominantly tormented the land while Kanojo tormented the sea, but there master tormented all, even going as far as demanding human sacrifices which it would devour. But even those were rarely enough.

"Kaosu also fed on war and hate; always taking possession of the bodies of kingdom rulers and instigating war through them so that he could feed off of it. Our neighbors, the Panthalessa, we had maintained a great friendship with; in fact, I was in love with their king and he with me. But Kaosu decided to raise hate and discontent between our people until war broke out. The Panthalessa king and I did our best to stop the war, but in the end, we failed. The war ended in a draw, but trust would never be restored between us. It was because of this that he and I decided to share our powers to create the pearl and clam that you see today, though he gave his all while I made sure to trap my memories within the pearl so that one day we could recreate a unified kingdom by giving our powers over to worthy individuals. However, we did not expect that they would return, too."

"So there were three demons! We had our work cut out for us when it was just Kare, but now you're telling me that we may have to face him again?" I asked of her incredulously.

"Kare, his shimai, Kanojo, and their master, Kaosu" she corrected me and I turned to my girls to indicate that they head for the surface immediately.

Once up on dry land and back in our human forms, I ran to the nearest telephone and called up all of my friends to call them together at the lab for an emergency meeting. Once we had met together, I shared with all of them nani I had learned and they all were sending fearful looks to one another, though Luke seemed to be seriously pondering on the subject.

"Ken, nani condition is the Dynamo Z in?" Momoko asked aloud and I began to see that even she knew how serious the situation was.

"It's a rusted heap; we never got around to fixing it up after your return from the time-stream 8 years ago" the Professor replied; he and Akira were visiting today.

"Even if it did work, it was a time machine, not a fighter" Miyako added gently while watching her boys and Momoko's girls outside playing together.

"Okay, so we only have two monsters to worry about then" Ami then commented lightly.

"How do you figure that, Ami-chan?" inquired her shimai.

"Well, think about it, Momoko, Miyako, and Kaoru already eliminated Kare from threatening us, so that only leave Kanojo and Kaosu to worry about" she summarized for us.

"I do hope you're right, Ami-chan, but I keep getting this distinct feeling that Kare can and will find a way to come back to aid his brethren" Luke commented and we all agreed to call it a day.

However, this was the one time where we all hoped and prayed that Luke was wrong, unfortunately we were wrong.

Kuriko's POV

I rose up out of bed in the middle of the night and headed down to the daidokoro to get a drink of milk when I noticed one of the scanners in the lab flashing and so paused to take a look to see a large mass of some kind heading for earth. Pressing a few buttons so as to adjust the scanner, I watched as the mass took on the shape of a bolt of lightning and crashed down somewhere in the middle of the city before dissipating into nothingness.

The scanner went from flashing red to a solid green after that and so thought little of it as I went into the daidokoro to get a glass of milk. However, when I exited the daidokoro to head back to bed, I saw Peach gazing out a window and growling in a threatening manner.

"Nani is it, Peach; is something upsetting you?" I asked of the small canine as I stroked the top of his metallic head.

"Wan; I sense a dark enemy the likes of which I've not sensed in almost 6 years, da-wan" Peach replied with a whine and so I picked him up in my arms to carry him up to the room with me.

Mysterious POV

I awoke after so many years of having my mind sunken into that cold moon and now relished the warmth of my body as I stood up, though I had to stop to work out so many kinks in my body while thinking to myself, 'Just wait until I get my claws on that monkey for mistreating my body like this! And one I'm done with him, I plan on making those Powerpuff Girls suffer as I slowly torture and wrench them to death!'

I turned and glared at the two couches that had body-shaped lumps upon them and yanked the covers off to find two young men, one familiar and one I couldn't recognize at all, asleep and so used my dark spores to lift the couches and dumped both boys out onto the hard floor.

"Ite, nani hit me?" the strange one asked as he was rubbing his head.

"I did; now tell me, where is that weakling monkey, Mojo Jojo?" I asked as I picked him up by the front of his jacket to glare him in the eyes at near point-blank range.

"Iie, it can't be!" exclaimed the familiar looking one and so I turned to stare down at him in annoyance.

"Where is Mojo Jojo?" I demanded of him as I began to choke his companion.

"Mojo…he's dead" the man replied and so I released his companion from my grasp.

"I will require some assistance in gaining enough power to summon forth my shimai and our master…you two will suffice for now" I informed them while secretly swearing to destroy them once they had outlived their usefulness.

"I don't know about you, Brick, but I, for one, am not about to listen to some court jester with lobster claws" the unfamiliar one said in anger.

"I don't think we have much other choice in the matter, Bosco. If he should so desire, he could kill both of us with just a thought" the one addressed as Brick replied respectfully.

"Find, but if you don't mind, it's the middle of the night and I'm still sleepy" Bosco returned as he stood up and headed back to the couch I had recently dumped him out of.

"You're right about that; we'll help you right after we finish getting some rest" Brick replied with a yawn and soon joined his friend in sleeping, but on the other couch.

I had to admit it; theirs was a strong argument so I too decided to get some rest until the morning.

Kuriko's POV

I had just drifted off to sleep when Peach jumped onto my stomach and thus caused me to sit up with a start as he said, "Kuriko-chan, Kare has returned!"

I looked at him bleary-eyed at first and told him, "Fine, now go back to bed."

I laid down and was just about to fall back to sleep when I finally comprehended Peach's warning and sat up in surprise as I grabbed a hold of him to ask in terror, "Did you say Kare is back?"

"Wan" Peached barked in acknowledgement.

"Summon the others, now!"

"Powerpuff Z, da-wan!" Peach called out quite loudly, though I knew the others would not be very pleased with being disturbed at this early hour.

Up and in my own uniform while holding Peach, I made some coffee for my friends as I knew that they would be both very tired and very grumpy when they arrived; I was right.

"Just nani in the heck is so important that you had to wake and summon us to the lab at 2 in the blessed morning?" inquired Bridgette as she aggressively entered the lab and snatched up a cup of coffee to drink down in one gulp.

"Are you unequivocally certain about the phenomenon, Peach? I can't triangulate a position so as to ascertain an allocation of Kare's signature anywhere" Brain said from the lab's computer and scanners in tired confusion.

"Kare; who the hell is Kare and why is he so important that this can't wait until the morning?" demanded Boomer disgruntledly while holding Berry up as she was dozing upon his shoulder.

"Do try to mind your language, Boomer; there are children asleep in the upper levels of the lab" I reminded him while passing him a mug of coffee.

"Kare is a demon that used to torment the people of Edo until Professor Hiraga created Kennainium-He and so created the Ooedo Chakichaki Musume so as to destroy him. He then found a way to return back when the original Powerpuff Girls Z were still in Junior High only to be done away with for six more years and has now returned and is probably hoping to have his revenge against the Powerpuff Girls" Brain summarized for us.

"Great, so Kare's back, we don't know where he is, or how to find him as he's probably sleeping, too, and you're going to tell me that you WOKE US UP AT UPTEEN O'DARK IN THE MORNING FOR THIS?" Bridgette shouted at Peach in frustration.

"Is something wrong, Mama?" inquired a small voice from the upstairs railing and we all turned to look up at Kumiko and Kouji as they were rubbing the sleep from their eyes with a small clenched fist.

Bridgette turned a shamed face to the floor while Blossom and I dashed up the stairs to put them to back to bed with some reassurance. When we returned to the main floor, Blade was calmly announcing, "Daijobu, let's all return home and go back to bed; we will meet up again in the morning to try and figure out nani our next course of action should be."

"Gomen nasai, Bullet-chan; I didn't mean to wake the children" Bridgette apologized as we were all heading out the door to return home.

"It's alright, I understand" I replied in forgiveness as I saw them to the door. "Are you coming to bed, Ken?"

"I'll be right there after I get the computer back on stand-by" he replied and was soon joining me as I ascended the stairs to return to our room.

Momoko's POV

Later that morning, I was preparing breakfast for the girls when they came into the daidokoro while still in their pajamas, stretching, yawning, and rubbing the sleep from their eyes when I noticed white power belts wrapped around their waistlines; Anzu's was an apricot orange; Suzuko's was white; and Akahana's was lavender.

"Girls, how long have you had those belts?" I inquired of them.

"We don't know" Anzu replied with a tired shrug.

"We've never seen them before" added Akahana with a yawn while placing one hand over her mouth.

"We woke up this morning and there they were" Suzuko continued while resting her head upon the table to go back to sleep until I set some pancakes and scrambled eggs upon the table in front of her.

"I see" I replied while hoping that Luke come into the daidokoro soon.

"Ohayo" Luke said in greeting as he entered the daidokoro to join us for breakfast.

"Ohayo, daddy" the girls greeted simultaneously with tired smiles on their faces as they all looked up at him.

"Luke, have you heard anything about there being any toy Powerpuff power belts for children?" I asked of him.

"Iie, not that I'm aware of; why do you ask?" Luke queried in return.

"Probably because we woke up this morning with these belts wrapped around our waists" Akahana replied as she stood up to show her father.

"I'll have to take a look at them a little later. After breakfast, I want you girls to play upstairs while your Mom and I head out to run some errands" Luke then replied; we'd not yet told them of our being Powerpuffs Z members so as to keep them from trying to emulate us and thus wind up being harmed.

As soon as breakfast was done, Luke and I rode off on his motorcycle after reminding the girls not to answer the door to anyone and headed for the lab where we were soon met by most of the others. Kaoru, Rikiya, Isamu, and Kanta were missing for reasons that we wouldn't learn about until later.

Miyako's POV

Takaaki left our apartment with precise instructions for the boys not to answer the phone or door under any circumstances and that they were to play in their room until we got back from running our errands, however, something did not escape our notice were the power belts that were around their waists. Taka-chan and I decided to look closer into them when we got back from searching for Kare, but our first stop was the lab where we met up with some of the others.

Ami's POV

I was overseeing my little ones while they were brushing their teeth after a hearty breakfast and getting dressed when I glanced down to notice that they had power belts wrapped around their waists.

"We woke up this morning and they were on our waists" they all explained to me, though the boys made sure to block their sister lest I decide to discipline them.

"Very well, off to your play room now" I then directed them with a smile.

Pazu also noticed their new belts but we decided to leave well enough alone for now since we had to catch up with our friends at the lab.

Kaarii's POV

As the children got older, the less and less Sherbet and Clemintina made themselves visible to them; Sherbet especially. I was in the daidokoro washing up the dishes while Josh supervised them while they brushed their teeth when Clemintina brought their new power belts to my attention while Sherbet was taking a nap atop the display case since we were closed.

"Hai, I noticed them, but I can't do anything about it right now. I need you to watch over the place while Josh and I are at the lab this morning" I told her in a soft voice so as not to be heard by the children and to keep from waking up Sherbet.

"Hai, Kaarii-chan" she replied quickly before taking off to head upstairs to check up on Josh and my little ones for me.

Kuriko's POV

I had just set the two down to watch cartoons up in their playroom with Peach watching over them when the rest of the team arrived.

"Gomen nasai, I'll have some tea going in just a minute or two" I apologized with a bow to the others when they walked into the lab.

"Skip the tea, let's just get down to business" Kaarii replied as she took her seat while sending questioning looks to the four empty seats.

"They don't consider themselves to be regular Powerpuffs anymore since their new transformations" Momoko informed her and Kaarii nodded her head in understanding.

"Say, did anyone else see little power belts on their children this morning or was it just me?" inquired Ami of the rest of us.

"Hai, but since we have to be more concerned about Kare's possible return, we've decided to set it aside until later" Takaaki replied honestly.

"Un, same here" murmured many of the others as Gifu and Gibo joined us in our little get together.

"There is both good news and bad news" Akira started out once we had all come to order.

"The bad news is that judging by everything that Peach, Kuriko, and the computers have told us, Kare's dark spores and energies have indeed returned; the question now is whether or not they have been able to locate his body so as to reanimate him into the wicked demon he is. The good news is that I have recently designed an all new Dynamo Z while Akira designed a companion robot for the Powerpuff Mermaids Z and the Panthalessa Boys Z and we have yet another robot forthcoming once we figure out its design specifications" Gifu-san announced.

"With all due respect, Professor, nani do we need a third robot for?" Oneechan inquired, though from the look in her eyes, I could see that she already anticipated nani the answer would be.

"I thought it would be easier to have a third robot for back up purposes and to also join in the creation of Ultima Z" he answered as he showed off the picture of the much more massive robot that had most of whistling with impression.

"Which we may need to fight the monster known as Kaosu" noted Ami quietly.

"That doesn't detract from the issue of the third robot needing a pilot" Oneechan commented a bit more firmly.

"Perhaps you should just come out and tell them, taisetsu-na" offered Gibo while patting Gifu on his hand.

"Let me guess, you already know about the children having power belts and are thus expecting them to put their little necks out on the line alongside us" noted Pazu rather heatedly.

"How can you expect them to do anything of the sort, Professor; they don't even know nani their belts are for yet, let alone know how to fight" Josh added in angrily.

"Have you gone completely coconuts?" asked Kaarii loudly in disdain.

Oniichan then began to knock on the table to bring everyone back into line and, once we had calmed down a bit, asked, "Before we all jump down my Ojisan's throat, may we at least know how you came to know about this ahead of the rest of us?"

"One hour after Kare's dark energies entered the atmosphere, crashed in the middle of the city, and dissipated, another mass of energy, this one white, entered the atmosphere and separated off into 14 parts and scattered over the city; two of them even entered the lab and…well…our two now have power belts of their own" Ken confessed to the rest of us and we all looked at him in surprise and disbelief.

"So…WHEN WERE YOU GOING TO TELL US ALL THIS?" Kaarii shouted in askance as she jumped up out of her seat and was about to reach across the table to pull Ken up by his shirt until Josh placed his hand upon her arm so as to settle her back down.

"We had hoped that the rest of the Chemical-Z would have entered twelve older children much like the way it did with Oneechan, Miyako, Kaoru, and yourself, Kaarii-chan" I answered on Ken's behalf. "I mean, you never even called to report anything until you all came in the door."

"Kuriko does have a point; we've iie one else to blame other than ourselves for half of this" Oniichan proclaimed and as the others nodded their heads in agreement, Gifu, Gibo, Ken, and myself all released our held breathes.

"Daijobu, it seems to me that we all have a city to search and scour for any and all signs of Kare; can anyone give us any information on nani it is that we should be looking for since most of us have neither seen or even heard of Kare?" announced Takaaki, helping to bring us all back to the important matter at hand.

Just then the alarm started sounding and we all turned to the video-phone to see Mayor Bellum announcing to us, "Professor, call the Powerpuffs Z immediately! I don't know how, but Kare has returned and is now standing atop the observation tower and keeps announcing that if the Powerpuff Girls don't show their faces soon, he's going to destroy all of Tokyo!"

She then switched the video camera so as to point at Kare where he was once again making his threat of destroying the city and we all knew nani we had to do.

"Come on, Miyako-chan; we may be short Buttercup now, but you and I can still at least try to give Kare a run for his money" we heard Momoko say as she and Miyako stepped off to the side, transformed, and before any of us could stop them, they took off towards the city.

"There's iie way in Hell I'm going to let my wife take on that demon alone" I heard Luke say in a thunderous growl before transforming and taking off after them with Takaaki right beside him.

"If we wish to teach this baka of a demon not to mess with us, than we had better follow them" Kaarii added as the rest of us all rose up, transformed, and chased off after our friends.

Blossom's POV

"Does he seem, I don't know, a bit different to you, Blossom-chan?" inquired Bubbles from below me as we peeked around the corner of a building to look up at Kare.

"If you mean, not as tall, then hai; but the last time we fought him we were just thirteen and we're not only older, but we're also bigger now" I replied to her as I removed my mini buster sword from its sheath on my belt before shooting out into the middle of the area between Bubbles and Kare so as to call him out.

"Daijobu, Kare, I neither know nor do I care how you returned, all I do know and care about is seeing to it that you're put back on ice in an even colder and farther away moon than before" I shouted out to him in annoyance; though deep down inside, I was terrified, but I wouldn't let him see that.

I tied the tassel loop around my wrist and then began to twirl my sword around as the band lengthened and finally shot it out at him as I called out, "Piercing Strike!" I succeeded in landing a hit upon his shoulder and watched in delight as it sank into his arm before giving the band yank to return the sword to my open hand.

"Well, well, so finally one of you has the guts to show up. Nani is more, you even managed to get the first attack on me with some success…too bad it isn't enough to do you any good" Kare replied as he shot forward towards me with one claw extended to strike me back.

"Bubbles Champagne" Bubbles called out as she released a barrage of bubbles upon Kare long enough for me to pull out of range of Kare's attack.

"So now the blue one shows up; I can still make due with ripping your heart out as with the red one!" Kare shouted as he grabbed a hold of Bubbles wrist so as to attack her.

"And if you think I'm just going to stand back and let you harm my friend, you've got another thing coming; A Blade's Promise!" Bridgette shouted as she released some energy from her swords which took on the form of a pinky-swear before balling up into a full fist and blasting Kare in the face so that he released Bubbles.

"That's new and different" Kare commented as he wiped the soot off of his face.

"Why don't you go back to where you escaped from, Kare? Bazooka Blast!" Bullet then announced as she released a large amount of energy from the baton she was carrying and slammed Kare in the abdomen and knocking him back even further.

"How many of you damned girls are there?" Kare asked in frustration.

"Just the five of us, Kare; Cherry Bomb" Berry replied as she spiked her ball that was now glowing red into his face where it exploded on contact before returning to Berry's hands in its teal color.

I made another pass on Kare with my blade, cutting him across the chest when he once again pursued me while growling angrily. Pulling back one claw, he opened it to release a blast of energy into me, but someone flew in between us and the attack exploded on contact.

"Huh?" Kare seemed to ask in confusion and watched as the smoke cleared and slowly revealed from his boots up, Blade.

We girls all gathered together side-by-side and watched before bowing our heads as Blade gathered together a massive orb of energy together before calling out, "This is nani happens to those who would attempt to attack my wife; Nova Blast!" Blade threw the orb forward where, despite his best efforts to keep it away, the orb exploded on contact and blasted Kare far away as he vanished in a star-flash.

"Arigato, Blade" I said in a quiet voice as I flew over to him only for him to take up a sitting position and began spanking me.

"You will not…ever fly off…and try to…take down…a powerful demon…like that…without me…and the others…ever again! Do I make myself clear?" he asked of me as he stood me back up and I just nodded my head while crying and rubbing my backside as it really hurt. "Good, because the thought of you being injured or worse is just too much for me to bear" he added as he hugged me close.

After that we all flew off towards home to check up on our little ones to find them all taking their naps. We then sat down to dinner together before heading off to bed, though for many of us, we wondered just nani Kare would do when he returned the next day.

Extra POV

Kare awoke in the bottom of a ten foot deep crater and said aloud to iie one, "I must really be more careful as to whom I attack in the future; that last guy really packs a wallop. Guy; so now there are Powerpuff Boys, too."

Just then a newspaper blew down into his face on the wind and he read, "_You will meet an abnormally powerful force. Stay clear of this one or he may turn against you._ I should have read my horoscope earlier this morning and stayed in bed. Obviously, I'm going to need some help in taking down these damned pests and I can only think of two individuals to do that. Tomorrow, I'll raid the museum and library, but for now...I think I'll take a nap right here."

Kare then passed out and fell back asleep; still a bit light-headed from Blade's onslaught.

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><p><strong>Carly: Serves him right for trying to attack Blossom.<strong>

**TCW: Too right.**

**Carly: So nani is in store for the next chapter?**

**Next time…**

**Momoko: We're teaching our children how to be Powerpuffs.**

**Kaarii: Not to mention that we're going in for round two with Kare only this time he's not alone.**

**Miyako: I thought we had heard the last of those two.**

**TCW: All this and still a whole lot more coming soon!**

**Momoko and Carly: Only be sure to leave us some nice reviews while you wait!**

**Author's Note: Yes, Kare did go down a bit easy this time, but don't expect to see that happening any further. Things are going to be heating up rather soon. Also, I made a slight error in the last chapter by calling Kaori, Noelle, and have since gone back and fixed this. Two of the young Mermaids' weapons have also changed. **


	67. New Identities

**Domo arigato for the many great reviews! For this next chapter, we will be joining our friends as some of them learn of their having…**

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><p><strong>New Identities<strong>

The next morning, we all sat down with our little ones and explained to them just nani their power belts could do for them as well as explaining to them that we were, in fact, the Powerpuffs Z. This was not as openly received as we had hoped it would be as we had many blank stares returned to us as though we had completely lost our minds…at least, by most of them.

"Un, I know" Suzuko replied with a shrug of her shoulders.

"Nani do you mean by that, Suzuko-chan?" inquired Kaarii curiously.

"Just that; I already knew you were all the Powerpuffs Z, Kaarii-san" she replied again while running a hand through her long hair.

"How did you figure that out, Suzuko-chan?" inquired Miyako lightly.

"Logic; every time Mommy and Daddy have to leave, our sofubo come over to watch over us and soon afterwards, the Powerpuffs Z appear" Suzuko explained further. "Also, when Daddy returns home, he smells even stronger of leather. As for the rest of you, I figured it out after talking with the rest of my friends and how you all behave at similar points in time."

"And so you told the others of your deduction" Ami added while watching as Suzuko removed her socks and put them into her pocket.

"Hai, Obachan" Suzuko then replied with a smile to Ami.

"She's a sharp one" Takaaki murmured to me and Luke.

"Hai, sharp as a scalpel" Luke commented in return.

"Well, how would you feel about learning how to use your new abilities?" I asked of the children.

"Sure" "Sounds like fun" "Okay" replied many of them, but of Suzuko, Akahana, and Anzu we heard, "We already know how."

"I may regret asking this, but how do you know?" Josh asked of our trio in disbelief.

"Obaachan was trying to hang a blanket from the clothesline on the balcony, slipped and almost fell. We reached down and grabbed a hold of our compacts and became super heroines and so flew in to help get her back onto the balcony safely" Akahana replied nonchalantly.

I pulled out my cell phone and was just about to call my mother to ask her why she hadn't told us about this incident when Luke stopped me while saying, "Then would you mind helping us to teach the others?"

They quietly nodded their heads in agreement before stepping away to pull out their compacts and thus began their own transformations, "Celestial Burst;" "Nebular Bright;" "Lunar Butterfly;" "Cosmicpuff Girls Z!"

"I need some Advil" I complained while massaging my forehead to try to assuage a developing headache.

At Luke's insistence, I rose up and we also began our own transformations, "Solar Blade;" "Hyper Blossom…Hyper Blossom" only while Luke now stood as Blade, I was still the same.

"Uh-oh, that can't be good" I heard Kaarii, now as Bridgette, say quietly.

Brain soon approached and took my compact into his hand to examine it with a jeweler's loupe that extended up out of his backpack for a couple of minutes when he quietly requested to look at Blade's buckle/phone and our girls' compacts as well before surmising, "There's a definite differential between your compacts and Blade's buckle/phone from the rest of our own. Yours, Giri no Oneechan, has similarly taken on this differential distinctness that may also now have a tie-in with your transformation's identity."

"Great, now can you simplify that?" I almost shouted in annoyance, but held back enough so as not to upset my girls.

Holding up both Bridgette's compact and my own, Brain then showed us that the 'P' on our compacts now had one very small difference: the 'P' on mine now had a star in the loop.

"That still doesn't tell me nani my new identity is" I groused when Butterfly came up to take hold of my hand and signaled for me to come down to her level. She then whispered into my ear and I just looked at her in amazement. Standing back up and letting her rejoin her sisters, I called out, "Stellar Blossom" and thus began my transformation under my semi-new identity.

"Miyako and Takaaki may also wish to think over their own transformations as well" Bullet said as she noticed that Miyako and Takaaki were also having trouble transforming while their boys now stood as, Asteroid Blast; Meteoric Bison; and Planetary Beetle; the Cosmicpuff Boys Z.

"Orbital Bubbles;" "Corona Baron" Miyako and Takaaki called out as they, too, changed their identities…to a degree.

"So let me get this straight: Where once we were all Powerpuffs Z, now we're the Powerpuffs Z, the Cosmicpuffs Z, the Powerpuff Mermaids Z, and the Panthalessa Boys Z; right?" inquired Bridgette so as to clarify things.

"It would seem that way" Bullet replied simply.

"But why the sudden changes; why couldn't we have remained the same team as before?" Berry inquired almost angrily.

"It could have something to do with these new enemies we have to fight" Bash replied helpfully.

"And just because we now have different team units, we're still part of the same team overall, Ami-chan" Blade told her as he set a comforting hand upon her shoulder.

"You're right, Oniichan; gomen nasai for getting upset" Berry replied as she and Blade shared a hug; I could see her point, each of her remaining family members was now part of a different unit and that scared her.

Kaarii's children had become, of all things, Rolling Bonbon, Hyper Buttercup, and Powered Bitter.

Ami's children were now, Icy Blizzard, Fierce Blaze, and Fluttering Breeze.

And Kuriko's two were now, Kinetic Byte and Starry Bloom.

It took us a while, but we finally had the children trained as well as we could expect until the time came for them to receive some experience on the battle field. I only wish it hadn't been as soon as it was.

Kare's POV

Rising up, I kicked the back of the couch Brick and his kyodai, Bosco, were sitting in and watching television before announcing, "Gomen nasai for interrupting your time vegetating in front of the television, but it's time to visit the library."

"Nani, can't check out a book on your own?" Bosco asked in sarcasm.

"If you're expecting your cutting reply to bother me, then I must disappoint you. Iie, I need you two to keep those damned Powerpuff pests at bay should they try to interfere in my endeavor to uncover the information I need to summon forth my brethren to conquer this pathetic planet" I replied while waving my claw to drag them along behind me as we flew off in the direction of the city library.

Touching down in front of the building, I dropped the two losers onto the ground in front of me before telling them, "Watch the place and see to it that I'm not disturbed."

"But Kare, the library is closed on Monday's" Brick informed me as though it made any difference.

"Like that's going to stop me" I replied with a chuckle before reaching for the door and receiving an electric-like shock. "Nani is this; someone has gone and covered the doors and window with Chemical-Z!"

"Looks like those Powderpuffs have decided to take the initiative to keep you out of the library" Bosco said in derision.

"So much for doing things the subtle way" I replied in anger and formed a ball of energy which I then threw into the door of the building and blowing it open.

I then walked inside and got my first real look at the building; four stories tall not counting the basement and none of it made any sense to me.

'Perhaps I should come back when there's someone here I can force into helping me to find the ancient manuscripts I'm looking for.

"Gomen nasai, but there's iie book borrowing without a valid library card" a voice said and I turned to see the new pink Powerpuff step out from behind a shelving unit with her katana-tachi drawn.

"Nani makes you think you have nani it takes to defeat me?" I asked of her with a snarl.

"The simple fact that she's not alone" noted another voice as a young woman spinning a ball on the end of her finger replied with a confident smile.

"Humph, it took three girls and a lot of Chemical-Z to defeat me last time, so do you two honestly think you can take me on?" I inquired again in confidence; they knew not who they were dealing with.

"Then do you mind if we step in?" asked two more voices as two young men came out from behind the counter to side with the young women.

Berry's POV

To say that we were honestly scared of the demon we were up against would be an understatement, but we refused to show it to him. Having Boomer now standing beside me kind of helped, but my biggest source of comfort and encouragement was knowing that Oniichan was up above the library and waiting to join us as soon as things started getting out of our control.

"It's time to teach you a lesson, Kare. Everyone together, now; Cross Blade Slash" called Bridgette as she indicated for us to attack.

"Cherry Bomb;" "Concussion Blast;" "Thunder Ball" we all called out as we attacked along with Bridgette and hitting Kare in the chest.

However, when the smoke cleared, Kare was still standing and held an orb of dark energy up over his head and threw it forward to strike us until I shouted, "Scatter" and we all dove off in different directions to avoid getting hit. The floor, unfortunately, was not as lucky as a large hole was blasted into it and was slowly starting to crumble out from underneath me and Bridgette.

I glanced over to Bridgette and noticed the gash upon her forehead and thus rendered unconscious. Summoning my ball back, I charged it up so that it turned pink and let it spatter upon the floor in a pink goo that held nani little floor remained to hold us up until the boys could get to us.

"Boomer, save the girls; I've got this baka" I heard Bash growl as his paddle ball morphed into a giant Sashimi knife that was half the length of Blade's sword, but only a quarter narrower; it reminded me of the Half-Moon sword in that Bleach anime, only smaller.

As Bash attacked, Boomer ran over to assist us when I told him, "I'm fine, but Bridgette has a concussion."

"Daijobu, I'll get her to safety if you can fly under your own power" Boomer told me and I nodded my head as we both quickly moved and flew up to the second floor just as the goo wore off and allowed the remnants of the floor to fall into the basement. The goo then formed into my ball and returned to my hands. "Berry, isn't there a café in the library?"

"Hai, it's up on the fourth floor, but now's not a good time to be thinking of you stomach" I replied in rebuke while watching as Bash was doing his best to attack Kare.

"Iie, I mean I need some water and ice to address Bridgette-chan's injury" he said in return.

I quickly pulled out my compact and reported to Blade nani was going on so that he could assist Bash before closing it and turning to Boomer, "Come on, let's go."

We flew up to the fourth floor where the café resided and while Boomer laid Bridgette down upon a table, I ran back behind the counter to get a bowl of water and a bucket of ice. Returning with them and setting them down for Boomer to address Bridgette's injury, I ran back over to watch Blade and Bash attacking Kare.

"Berry, I need your help!" Boomer called to me as Bridgette was waking up.

I turned around to rejoin Boomer when a mild explosion sent me sprawling and I turned in time to see Kare flying up towards the roof with Bash fast on his heels, though Blade shot us a concerned glance and so flew over to help me back up before dashing over to heal Bridgette's head injury.

"Ite…my aching head" Bridgette said with a groan as she slowly sat up and looked at us somewhat tiredly. "Nani happened?"

There was an explosion overhead and we all turned to look out the window to see Kare, Bash, and Blossom in a heated battle with Kare.

"I remember now; I'm going to kill that rat-faced demon!" Bridgette then said with a growl as she flew off to join the fight.

Blossom's POV

I was doing my best to stay out of the way as I knew just nani Kare was truly capable of. Watching the battle, I saw Bridgette fly out of the hole in the roof and join the fight as she gathered energy into her blades, crossed her arms so that her blades pointed with their cutting edges out as she called, "Sword Slash Cyclone" and spun herself into a miniature tornado that had a cutting edge. She then directed herself towards Kare, but just before she could successfully attack him, he teleported out of her way and teleported Blade in to get sliced up instead.

"Oopsy" Bridgette said in a gasp of surprise when she stopped and saw just who it was that got attacked instead.

Boomer and Bash soon dropped to the rooftop not too far from Blade in exhaustion when I suddenly got this feeling that something dark and powerful had just appeared behind me and soon felt my arms being squeezed as though in a vise as Kare growled into my ear, "I remember you and the way you and your friends put my mind deep into that frozen moon. Time for a little payback, wouldn't you say?"

I then felt myself being shot through with dark energies as though by lightning bolts and screamed out in agony of Kare's onslaught.

He cut his attack for a moment as he said, "You and your pathetic friends are overconfident in your abilities!" He once again shot more dark energy into me so that I was writhing in pain while trying my best not to scream out and thus satisfy the demon. "Maybe with your death, your friends will realize how futile their efforts truly are…huh?"

"Quasar Blast;" "Static Force;" "Phoenix Wing" said three small voices and Kare looked up in time to be blasted right in the chest by three attacks from an unknown force.

Gasping for breath, I looked up and noticed my three girls flying overhead and now joining their energies together to pass them over to Bright who called out, "Shooting Star Finish" and shot the large energy orb into Kare's chest before he could recover their last attack. The orb connected with Kare's chest again and sent him flying off in a star-flash.

"Word to the wise, Kare: Don't attack our Mama!" shouted Bright and her sisters simultaneously before they slowly flew down to assist me.

"Are you alright, Mama?" little Butterfly inquired of me as she and her sisters tried to help me up when I noticed Bright placing her hand against her father's and soon came over to me.

"I don't know if this will work, but it's worth a shot; Healing Hand" she said as she placed her hand upon my shoulder and, though not entirely, did mostly heal my injuries.

"How did you do that?" I asked of her.

"I can momentarily borrow special abilities from others, but they're not nearly as strong" Bright explained to me as I limped over to check up on Blade as he was awakening.

"Ite…nani hit me?" Blade inquired with a groan as he massaged his forehead with one hand.

"Bridgette did, but it's not entirely her fault; Kare teleported himself out of the way and teleported you in to take the attack instead" I explained as we sent a glance over to Bridgette as she was prostrating herself with her back to the wall and shaking with anxiety of Blade getting angry with her.

"Other than me and you, are there any other injuries?" Blade asked while using his Healing Hand ability to heal both of us.

"Bridgette, Berry, and Boomer are all fine, but Bash is bit more severe; strange, his paddle ball isn't revert back to its normal form and is maintaining its new form" I noted to Blade while he addressed Bash's injuries.

"Nani are you three doing here?" Blade then inquired of Butterfly, Blast, and Bright.

"Kare was gonna hurt Mama" Butterfly answered while she and her shimai-tachi were trying to hide behind me.

"She's right; his intent was to kill and thus make an example of me" I replied with a sniff as I dropped to my knees and embraced my babies.

Blade began to approach Bridgette when Sherbet and Clemintina flew in between them with challenging look on her little faces as Sherbet said, "You're not going to lay a finger on her."

"Only to help her to stand up; come on, Bridgette-chan, I need your help in getting Bash home" Blade said in reply before addressing Bridgette.

"Sumimasen for attacking you, Blade-sempai" Bridgette replied as she tightened her muscles in fear of his striking her back.

"You've nothing to apologize for, Bridgette-chan; it wasn't your fault" Blade told her as he helped her to her feet.

With that, we all returned to the lab with Bridgette and Blade carrying Bash as he slept, my girls flying with me, and both Boomer and Berry flying just ahead of us.

Brick's POV

"I knew that baka couldn't handle the Powerpuffs Z" I heard Bosco say as we entered the abandoned library together.

"You can rub it in Kare's face later on, right now, we need to find the archive room and start looking for the ancient manuscript he had been referring to" I replied as I activated a flashlight to see where we were going.

"Why should we; it's not like he's going to feel indebted to us or anything" groused Bosco as he looked at some of the old books and tomes we were walking past.

"Iie, but why give him cause to take his temper out on us when we can search in a much more organized manner?" I queried in return as I sat down at the archive computer and turned it on.

Half an hour later, I stood up and said, "Come on, I found the location of the scroll we're looking for."

We soon found a locked chest that bore Kare's disturbing visage upon it and together we picked it up to carry it home where we knew he would eventually show up.

Later that evening, Kare did indeed come in through the door and glared at me and Bosco as we sat on the couch playing a video game. Growling at us in annoyance, Kare approached and made ready to kick the couch over once more when I said, "If you do that, you'll destroy your own box of ancient scrolls."

"Nani are you talking about?" he asked in anger and disbelief.

"Shortly after the Powerpuffs kicked your o-shiri, we snuck inside and used the archive computer to locate, find, and thus bring home your ancient scrolls. So if you kick us, we will destroy the box and thus render you to fight the Powerpuffs all on your own" Bosco replied as he set a bomb on top of the chest.

"Fine, enjoy your pathetic little game, but I will be taking the chest with me" Kare said in agreement.

"Sure, there's iie key to it anyways" Bosco the said as he picked up his bomb and deactivated it before stuffing it back into his pocket.

"To say little for the fact that it's also sealed further shut with Chemical-Z soaked shide that not even we can break" I added in only for Kare to look at the chest in annoyance.

"Finish playing your game and then get some rest; we need to come up with a way to get this chest opened one way or another" Kare told us as he walked away to get some sleep.

Momoko's POV

That night, Luke and I shared the o-furo with our girls, getting them washed up, and soaking in the hot water where they fell asleep against us. Smiling to one another, Luke and I rose up, dried ourselves and the girls off before slipping them into bed together, foregoing dressing them since it was a warm night before turning in for the night in our own room; we'd long since moved back in when the girls were old enough to sleep in their own beds. However, we had this strange feeling that we would soon be seeing more of Kare the next day…we were right.

We were up sharing breakfast when we received a summons from Mayor Bellum that there was a break-in at the local museum and that we were needed to investigate.

"I swear, if this is about another escaped mummy, I'm turning around and taking the girls home with me" I complained aloud so that Blade sent me a questioning look.

"Nani is this about an escape mummy?" Blade asked of me and I sighed before regaling him with the story*.

"So that's how he escaped that last time; well, we'll just have to be more careful this time then" Blade said simply and now it was my turn to send him a questioning look; things were never 'simply' done where Kare was concerned.

We soon landed and cautiously entered the museum and began searching around for signs of the trespassers. We soon came upon the Edo period of the museum and soon spotted Kare, Brick, and Bosco standing in front of three sarcophagi and grinning down at them wickedly.

"Those are the remains of the Ooedo Chakichaki Musume!" I whispered in concern to Blade.

"He must be thinking of tapping into them so as to extract the Kennainium He for some despicable purpose" Blade replied also in a whisper.

Iie soon said Kare shot out three bolts of dark energy into the fronts of the sarcophagi so that they fell to the ground in pieces. Inside stood the Ooedo Chakichaki Musume, still looking as fresh as they day they passed away.

"So this is nani has become of you three; still looking so well. *chuckles* But not for long; once I extract the Kennainium He from your pathetic carcasses, you shall be rendered as you should be: dust and brittle bones" Kare said as he lifted another claw and began to pull the Kennainium He from them.

"Not if we can help it, Kare" Blade called out as he pulled his sword, pointed straight at him and released a bolt of white energy as he called out, "Piercing Light."

"Don't just stand there, get them!" shouted Kare to Brick and Bosco who quickly jumped in to assist their new master in keeping us detained.

Jumping up over our heads, our girls flew in to stop Kare themselves as Burst shouted, "Here's a better idea, Kare: Let's put you inside one of those things and bury you in the middle of a glacier!"

Pulling out her weapon, we all gave pause to notice that Bright's mini buster sword was also shaped like a key.

"A keyblade; but how is that possible?" shouted Kare in disbelief.

"Hey, koibito; nani say you and me get a little bit cozy?" Bosco inquired of me as he made ready to tear open the front of my leotard.

"I'm a married woman, hentaisha baka" I replied as I got my wrist free of his grasp and slammed the pommel of my sword into his chin so that he fell off of me.

Blade, meanwhile, had belted Brick in the mouth and knocked him away so that he smacked his head upon a pylon and now lay unconscious on the floor.

"Enough of this; I've got enough of nani I came for" Kare shouted and soon vanished away with Brick and Bosco so that we were all left to check up on each other.

Bowing our heads, we paid our respects to the deceased before getting some plywood and covering the sarcophagi that Kare had destroyed the fronts of and turned to leave with our girls.

"I wonder why Kare would fear a keyblade" I noted to Blade as we sat down on a bench outside of the museum to wait for the curator and the mayor to arrive so as to assess the damages.

"As I recall, a keyblade can unlock portals to other dimensions, other periods in time, and can even open portals so as to go from, for example, here to Long Island, New York just by stepping through. They are also used to lock those same portals" Blade summarized while holding Bright in his arms as she was napping; Butterfly was asleep on the bench beside me and using my thigh for a pillow while Burst took a nap leaning against my other side as she sat between me and Blade.

When Mayor Bellum and the museum's curator arrived, we quickly informed them of nani little damage had been done and though the curator whined about the amount of work it would take to repair the damage, Mayor Bellum said that she understood and would provide the museum the funds it would need to make the repairs. We were then sent home, though Blade and I couldn't help but wonder just nani it was that Kare was planning.

Bosco's POV

While bandaging Brick's head wound, I watched as Kare used the small amount of Kennainium He that he had stolen from the girls' remains to destroy the shide that was taping his chest of scrolls closed. Once the shide was gone, he opened the chest and began to pull out and read through all of his old scrolls before finally looking up and smiling at us.

"Get some rest boys; we've got a date with destiny in the morning" Kare told us as he broke out in an evil cackling laugh.

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><p><strong>Carly: I don't think I like the sounds of that.<strong>

**TCW: Ditto.**

**Carly: So nani is in store for the next chapter?**

**Next time…**

**Kaoru: You'll be spending the day with us!**

**Rikiya: And don't count on things being laid back and boring either.**

**Isamu: Right, we get take on Kare in this next chapter.**

**Kanta: Plus, we get to meet another demon who is sure to give us a run for our money, too.**

**TCW: All this and still even more coming soon.**

**Momoko and Carly: Just make sure to Favorite and Review, onegai!**

***Author's Note: Go to AnimeHere (dot) com and watch episode 22 to learn of how it all went down, unless you already know the story at which point, never mind! – The Cat Whispurrer**

**Also, it has been brought to my attention that I have accidentally failed to provide the English meanings of certain Nihon-go words I've used in a few of the last chapters, so here they are:**

**Taisetsu-na – Dear (as in addressing a loved one, but not as in the opening to a letter)**

**Shonikai – Pediatrician**

**And for this chapter:  
><strong>

**Shide - strips of paper upon which can be written spells typically for dissuading evil spirits  
><strong>


	68. Kanojo

**Arigato again for the great reviews, friends. For this chapter, we will be joining our friends as they try to stop Kare from bringing back…**

* * *

><p><strong>Kanojo<strong>

The next morning, at the request of Aqua Regina and the children, we decided to take our little one off on an underwater archeological expedition to the remains of an undersea kingdom and were taking a look around when I would receive an urgent message from Blade.

"Hey, Lucia-chan, take a look over here!" called Rina as she was indicating the remains of a large bedroom.

"Sugoi; it looks like this must have been either a queen's or a princess's bedroom!" Lucia exclaimed adoringly.

"Mama, come here, quick!" shouted Kaori to me and I swam over to check up on her; there was fear in her voice.

"Nani is it, Kaori; nani is wrong?" I asked as I came up and took her into my arms to give her a comforting hug.

She made iie reply but pointed to a giant footprint that was some 100 feet long.

"Whoa, someone's got big feet!" noted Kaito as he and his kyodai-tachi joined us.

That was when my pendant began flashing.

Blossom's POV

We were out running a standard patrol over the city with our little ones when we spotted Brick, Bosco, and Kare flying off towards the sea and so called in to Bridgette and her team to let them know.

"Got it; we're on our way!" Bridgette replied quickly and soon we could see them on an intercept course.

"Wait a second…if they're heading for the sea, than that could mean…Kaoru-chan" I heard Blade say in concern of our friends who we knew were off on an undersea excursion this morning.

Blade then called in to Kaoru while I simply noted, "I just hope the signal can penetrate down deep enough into the water."

"We'll soon find out" Blade replied while signaling Kaoru.

Kaoru did indeed open her pendant and asked, "Hai, Oniichan, nani is up?"

"Big trouble, that's nani; Kare, Brick, and Bosco are heading for the sea with the Powerpuffs Z in close pursuit. We're going to try to zip ahead and confront them over the water, but I don't know nani their intent may be" Blade reported in to her.

"Understood, I'll let the others know so as to prepare for possible battle" Kaoru reported before closing her pendant again.

As soon as they ended their calls, we flew in to help Bridgette in her fight with Kare.

"Bridgette, have Blizzard and Breeze make the first attack upon Kare!" I called in on my compact to her.

"Nani; why do you want me to have two of the children make the first attack?" Bridgette asked in confusion.

"Because Kare has a weakness to cold temperatures; their attacks combined should make for a very cold reception that'll hopefully weaken him enough to make our jobs easier" I replied and noticed that she looked back to signal to Berry's two children to make the first attack upon Kare.

"I hope you know nani you're doing, Blossom" I heard Blade say skeptically.

"She does, trust me" Bubbles replied confidently as we watched as Blizzard and Breeze combined their attacks together to make an artic wind.

"C-C-C-COLD!" shouted Kare as the wind struck him and just about froze him in his place.

"Daijobu, now allow me the next move; Katana-tachi of Fury Finish!" Bridgette called to the children so that they quickly broke off and got out of the way as she unleashed her ultimate attack upon Kare.

"I hope she knows nani she's doing" I noted to the others as we joined them.

Bridgette's attack struck hard and pure, but as the ice that was imprisoning Kare shattered, Kare was left unfazed by it as he shivered and glared at Blizzard and Breeze until they hid behind their mama.

"You lousy pests may have remembered my vulnerability to the cold, but that's not going to do you much good as soon as I bring in some special help" Kare growled at us before unleashing a major blast of dark energy so that we were all blown down and he quickly continued on his way with Brick and Bosco hot on his heels.

"Blade, Baron, Bash, Butch, you four should continue to pursue Kare; the rest of us will remain here to address injuries" I said as Brain removed a first aid kit from his backpack to begin cleaning up skinned knees and elbows.

The four men soon left us to continue after Kare and I began to check Bright's o-shiri as she kept jumping around while holding onto it; she had a bad case of road-rash.

Butch's POV

We were following after Kare over the ocean, though they seemed to be flying inside of an energy bubble, when I noted to Blade, "You'd better warn the Mermaids and Panthalessa that they're on their way."

"I already did; you and Bash should return to help the others with the children while Baron and I put on the thrusters to try and get ahead of Kare" Blade called back so Bash and I quickly pulled up and flew back as they began to fly even faster using the rockets built into their boots; a special add-on that only the Cosmicpuffs had in their boots/shoes.

We then returned to the lab where we found some of the children limping around from the bandages on their knees, Breeze was curled up in her mother's arms sniffling, and Bright was lying down on the lounge couch with a look of pure embarrassment as she had a towel draped over her lower end.

"Nani happened to you?" I asked of Bright in a bit of concern.

"I don't want to talk about it" she grumbled as she buried her face into the crook of her arm.

"Be nice, Bright; it's not his fault you have third-degree road-rash on you cute little o-shiri" Blossom gently chastised her as she gently set an ice pack upon her daughter's backside.

Standing up, I went to check up on Barrage and our children to find that they only had mild bruising while Barrage had a bandage wrapped around her head, "It's just a mild cut on my forehead," she explained to me.

"Well, we'll all feel better once Blade returns and uses his Healing Hand ability on us" I reassured everyone.

"If he returns" I heard Burst mumble from the window seat.

"Don't worry; your daddy will return, I'm sure of it" Bridgette offered confidently as she stepped out of the examination room with her arm in a sling from a mild sprain in her wrist.

Blossom turned to send a grateful smile to Bridgette for her words of encouragement while I sat down beside Barrage. Now was the hard part: waiting to see when and if the others would indeed return as Bridgette had promised.

Kaoru's POV

We saw Kare coming as he dove under the water, in an energy bubble, with Brick and Bosco right beside him and so we prepared for battle, though I could sense the fear in the children.

"I don't have time to play with you damned pests; so I leave you to have fun with my little pets" Kare told us as he released some of his dark spores into the water where they fused with a squid, a lobster, and a shark.

The three innocent animals began to grow in size so that they were of prehistoric proportions. The shark was now as big as a megalodon, the squid was the size of the Kraken, and the lobster was now large enough to crush a full-sized submersible in just one of its claws.

"Oh well, we led a nice life" Rina said with a sigh.

"But we're only five years old" Kaori shouted out with a pout in her lips.

"I said nice, not long" Rina returned with a shrug so that Lucia, Rikiya, and I just sweat-dropped in disbelief.

I was soon caught up in the tentacles of the giant squid and I began to get a little concerned due to some of the stories I'd heard about such situations. Fortunately, the creature only had the intent on eating me instead of doing acts of perversion upon me, though, neither one was really a good thing.

A flash of black shot through the water and split the squid in half so that the dark spores separated from the animal to dissipate in the water. I looked up to notice myself now in the arms of Blade and just looked at him in surprise.

"I've fought bigger" Blade told me as though unfazed by the creature.

"My babies!" I shouted as I saw the massive megalodon chasing after my girls and closing fast.

A blue streak shot down past my girls and towards the open mouth of the shark. The water turned red as the giant shark was sliced in half. Again, the dark spores separated from the animal so that it returned to its normal size while the spores disappeared in the water.

The Panthalessa Boys were fighting against the giant lobster with a vengeance, shooting bolts of energy from their foreheads, but to iie avail. Blade then dropped me off with my girls so that we huddled together while they all shook in terror as Isamu swam over to offer nani little help she could.

"I see a giant pot of boiling water with enough plates for all the people of Tokyo along with of melted butter. I also see the lot of us carrying you towards the pot and all stomachs rumbling in anticipation of a lobster feast" Blade told the giant lobster after it had knocked down the boys and was preparing to cut them all in half with one monstrous claw.

The lobster looked up at him in surprise and began to back away in fear until Baron added in, "I 'll take a claw if you please" at which point the dark spores rose up out of the creature and disappeared into the water while the small lobster now swam away to safety.

"Hey, look; nani do you suppose that building is?" asked Kaito aloud as he indicated nani looked like some kind of temple.

Brick's POV

While leaving the mermaids and their companions to fight with the monsters Kare had created we continued towards the small temple-like structure just past the perimeters of the undersea kingdom. Entering, Kare had us approach the center of the temple which was the mouth of a dormant volcano.

"Time to wake up, shimai taisetsu-na" Kare quietly chuckled as he released some of his dark spores into a small crevice in the top before chanting the words of an incantation, ending it with, "Rise Kanojo and conquer!"

The top of the volcano began to crack and Kare had the bubble we were in leave out of the temple and to return to the surface while laughing wickedly just as there was an explosion and a plume of fire, smoke, and dark energy rose up from the volcano and burst through the top of the temple as a feminine voice began laughing right along with Kare and in a similar manner.

Meeting us up on the surface of the water, a demon that had the tail and wings of a stingray but with the upper body of a pink-skinned mermaid rose up from the water and quickly transformed into an human-like demon as she said, "Finally…I'm FREE! It sure took you long enough Kare."

"Gomen nasai, Kanojo, but I've been rather preoccupied with other things" Kare replied to the she-demon with little remorse.

"Preoccupied; nani on earth could you have ever been so preoccupied with?" Kanojo inquired of Kare in annoyance.

"Instead of telling you, why don't I show you" Kare replied as he released a bunch of his particles to show a vision-portal through time to allow Kanojo to see nani all had happened to him over the years.

"So first the Ooedo Chakichaki Musume separated your mind from your body and put it on ice, but then these three Powerpuff Girls Z do the same, only they bury your mind in a cold, dark moon until some of your dark spores could regain enough strength to find and free you. And you just now decide to call upon me to help you; you're a real baka" Kanojo criticized him.

"Mind your tongue, Kanojo; the only reason I freed you is because I need your help in summoning the Master back to this worthless planet" Kare barked at her in annoyance.

"The Master; why be so quick to let him destroy the world when you and I can do it together. Those three brats could hardly stand up to you alone, so nani could they possibly do against both of us" Kanojo offered him delicately.

"Because they're iie longer just three" Kare replied as he showed her the new Powerpuffs Z and their children.

"I see your point; but surely you and I can handle them with little difficulty" Kanojo now replied as she seemed to be trying to keep from summoning back their master.

"Normally, I would agree with you, Kanojo, but I don't think so this time. One of these little children carries a keyblade for her weapon and then there's her father; he's a true force to be reckoned with" Kare replied with a sigh; he, too, must not be looking forward to summoning forth their master.

"Perhaps we should discuss this over a cup of tea" I offered the two demons so as to keep to traditions.

"Your servant makes a strong point; let us remember our manners and keep to tradition" Kanojo noted with a semi-evil smile to Kare while I just rolled my eyes away in annoyance of being referred to as being Kare's servant.

Back home, Kanojo wandered around, now in a human form, looking over the place critically, "So this is your hideout; you most certainly could do better, Kare."

"It's only temporary, I assure you" Kare replied as I served them tea before retreating back into the daidokoro.

"I'm surprised they don't insist on you wearing a French-maid's uniform" Bosco grumbled quietly.

"Onegai, don't give them any ideas; besides, if we play our cards right, maybe they'll lend us some of their power so as to help them in destroying those Power-pests" I commented in return.

"Wake up and smell the coffee, Brick; they're only going to use out for so long and then they'll destroy us! We have to find a way to turn the tables and destroy them as soon as they destroy the Powerpuffs Z…though I do hope they just mildly maim that Bridgette" Bosco replied in annoyance.

"Dude, you're lusting after a married chick with brats" I informed him.

"Hai, well once Kare, Kanojo, and whatever this master of theirs is destroy all her husband and brats, she'll be mine for the taking. I'm going to have a lot of fun making her into my slave" Bosco replied lustfully.

"I think you're sick in the head or something" I added derisively before heading back out into the main room to collect their teacups for washing.

"I still think we should try seeing nani we can do together against those Powerpuffs before summoning forth the Master. If we can be successful together, then we won't have to give up our own freedom to serve him and we can share ruling this pathetic planet together" Kanojo was saying determinedly as I re-entered the main room.

"Very well, but not right now; you were just freed and you need to build up some strength before attempting to take on our enemies" Kare told her in finality and Kanojo, though dejectedly, agreed with him.

"So these humans of yours, nani purpose do they serve to you?" Kanojo asked as she reached over and tousled my hair playfully.

"They are merely tools to me, though they did prove themselves useful in helping me to find and retrieve my scrolls so as to find and thus free you" Kare replied dismissively.

"I like this one, may I borrow him?" she asked of Kare and I was beginning to feel quite uncomfortable, even more so when she began to pinch and squeeze my cheeks.

"Do try to control yourself, Kanojo; you can have him after we destroy the Powerpuffs Z" Kare commented in return in such a way that really made me uncomfortable.

"Very well; save yourself for me, little man" Kanojo told me as I turned and ran back into the daidokoro where Bosco was looking at me wide-eyed.

"That's it, I quit this gig" I said as I threw the teacups into the trash, picked up my hat, and headed out the side door.

"I'm coming with you" Bosco said as he followed after me.

We walked on in silence for quite some time before Bosco finally broke the silence by asking, "So where are we going?"

"As far away from those two as we can get" I replied disgustedly.

"I hope your girlfriend doesn't object" Bosco then said; I didn't need to turn around to see the mischievous smile on his face as I could hear it in his voice.

"Do me a favor, Bosco" I told him.

"Sure, nani do you need, lover-boy?" Bosco asked in a teasing manner.

"Shut up and don't speak to me until we reach the southernmost point of Honshu" I told him and, much to my amazement, he remained quiet.

We were passing in front of an elementary school when I stopped to notice a group of children talking and playing together away from the rest of the children and began to get an idea, "Wait here a minute Bosco."

I then jumped over the fence and approached a girl with long white hair only for her friends to turn and stare up at me in distrust.

"Do either of you have a pen and piece of paper that I can borrow?" I asked of them and two of the kids pulled out the items I requested.

I wrote out a note, folded it up, and handed the pen and note to the white haired girl as I told her, "If you know where or how to find the Powerpuffs Z, would you onegai give this to them?"

The girl silently nodded her head, took the note, and I turned to join back up with Bosco to return to our journey.

Suzuko's POV

"So nani does it say, Suzuko-chan?" inquired Tomohiro as he moved to sit a little closer to me as I watched the two men leaving.

I then turned back and opened the letter and read over it quickly before jumping up and telling the others, "We've got to get this to daddy."

"But Suzuko, school doesn't end for another four hours and recess is ending in a minute" Akahana informed me while leaning back against Youga's shoulder.

"So tell Sensei that I had to use the oteari; Nebular Bright" I told her as I transformed into my Cosmicpuff Girl Z uniform.

"Hold up, I'm coming with you; Asteroid Blast" Tomohiro said as he jumped up and soon transformed into his Cosmicpuff Boy Z uniform and we took off together to fly for daddy's massage center.

Momoko's POV

A safety feature that we had installed into our own and our children's belts was a special signal that would notify us when our children transformed and would even identify which one had transformed. I was sitting at my desk in the office when my belt began to sound its signal and so I checked it to see that Suzuko had transformed.

I started to jump up to go and meet up with her when the phone rang, "Moshi-moshi."

"Momoko, I just got an alert on my belt that Tomohiro has just transformed and according to the readout, he's approaching your area" Miyako informed me with concern in her voice.

"I know, Suzuko too; I'm heading out to meet…them; hold on, they just walked in the door" I told Miyako as I came out from behind the counter to check up on them.

"Gomen nasai to come like this, Mama, but one of those Rowdyruff men requested a pen and paper of us and wrote out this note before asking us to deliver it to Daddy" Bright informed me once I led her and Blast to Luke's office where we could speak quietly.

"Daijobu, let's see it" I told her as I picked up the phone and informed Miyako of nani they had just told me since she was on hold while also reading the note. "Miyako, we now know where Kare and Kanojo are hiding, though it also seems as though the Rowdyruff Boys have left for southern Honshu."

"Hmm, I wonder why" she commented curiously.

"I'm not too sure, but as soon as Luke's finished with his current patient, I'm going to let him know" I told her.

"Daijobu, but just do me one small favor" she requested of me.

"Give Blast a big hug for you and send him on to school?" I guessed from the tone in her voice.

"Hai" she replied simply and I soon hung up the phone before hugging and kissing both children. I then told them to return to school and to contact me as soon as they got there.

Both of them soon left and did indeed return to school per my instructions and called me to let me know, though I had been tracking them the whole time to make sure they took iie detours to the candy store or the arcade.

Closing my compact, I looked up as Luke entered and sent me a puzzled look as to why I was in there instead of behind the front desk and I just handed him the note in silence. He read over it and sent me another questioning look to which I explained to him nani all had happened.

"Okay, so the good news is that Brick and Bosco are now out of the way though whether temporarily or permanently we'll have to wait and see, and we now know where Kare and this new demon are hiding. This may not last for long once they realize that Brick and Bosco have left" Luke surmised after a few minutes.

"Right, but the question here is: What do we do next? Do we take advantage of this information or do we wait and let them make the next move?" I asked him.

"Let's take this up with the others before the children return home from school" he offered and I checked my watch to see how much time we would have to discuss the issue.

Luke and I then engaged a phone conference, though on a channel our children had iie access to, with the rest of our teammates so as to determine nani our next move would be.

"I say we utilize this information and take the fight to them instead of waiting for them to come to us" Kaarii said firmly.

"I don't know; let's not forget that even with so many fighting Kare, Momoko was almost killed by him. I say we opt for a more tactical maneuver and attack en force once we're certain that those two are indeed still there" suggested Takaaki, trying to think logically.

"Here's a question: Do we do this with or without the children helping" Kuriko inquired quietly as she and Ken were home schooling their two.

"I say we leave them in the care of their sofubo-tachi" offered Kaoru.

"I think it would be better to have them with us, especially your trio, Oniichan" noted Ami in return; everyone knew of how well our three had done in protecting and saving me from Kare's onslaught.

However, nani none of us realized at the time was that Kuriko's two were listening in on this and taking notes so as to share our plans with their itoko-tachi and friends.

"I agree with Kaarii; Kare can't protect his shimai if you're all fighting with him and, since she's still a little weak, the rest of us can take advantage of the situation to fight and destroy her" up spoke Kanta determinedly.

"Daijobu, let's take a vote on this. Show of hands, those for attacking the two demons?" Luke requested of everyone. "And those opposed?" Luke asked further and I alone showed my hand against the issue, but could you blame me; I was almost killed the last time we ran into Kare.

"Very well, call up the children's sofubo-tachi and/or sitters and have them meet the children at home; we signal each other again in half an hour" Takaaki suggested and we all nodded our heads in agreement, though with a sigh of concern escaping from me as we ended our conference.

"Momoko, if you don't want to come along, I'll understand" Luke offered me in a soft voice.

"I'm a member of the team and everyone is counting on me to do my part so as to bring us to victory" I told him as I was calling up my parents to watch over my girls for me; Kuriko would call up Ken's parents to watch over their two.

The arrangements were all made and we all signaled in at the agreed upon time. We then transformed into our Powerpuff Z forms and left for the run-down Victorian shack that was in the middle of the city, though iie one seemed surprised when I took the rear position instead of flying alongside of Blade in the lead position.

When we arrived, we all decided to take a different position in hiding around the place while letting Bridgette and Blade sneak in onto the property. I was watching this closely when I felt a jolt of energy shoot through me and I was now aware that they knew we were there. Pulling my sword from my belt, I flew down and grabbed both of them up by their vests and retreated away, struggling to lift Blade.

"Nani are you doing?" hissed Bridgette in a whispered shout.

"She's trying to pull you to safety, too bad her attempt is futile" Kare replied as he appeared in front of us with a vindictive smile upon his face.

"Depends on your point of view" Blade said as he kicked Kare in the mouth and took hold of both of us girls to fly us to safety.

"Someone's got an early death wish" Kare shouted while rubbing his chin.

"Gum Ball" "Gooey Bubble" called out Berry and Bubbles as they launched their initial attacks which exploded and virtually glued Kare in place.

"Crescent Blade" "Cross-blade Slash" "Piercing Strike" Blade, Bridgette, and I called as they first launched their attacks which empowered the point of my sword's tip and struck Kare straight in the stomach and exploded before my sword returned to my hand.

"I think you guys hurt him with that one" noted Baron to us until the smoke cleared.

Baron was right, we had managed to mildly injure Kare, but he rapidly healed and was back for more.

"Shabon Storm" Bubble Champagne" "Cherry Bomb" called Baron, Bubbles, as their attacks impacted upon Kare just before Berry's attack could strike home and thus sent Kare reeling back a bit.

"You people are really starting to annoy me!" Kare shouted as he once again rose up from our best efforts.

Summoning forth a giant scythe, Kare shot forward while spinning his weapon and knocking everyone aside until he came upon me and pierced me through the abdomen.

Bridgette's POV

When I saw Kare's scythe pierce Blossom's stomach and out her back, I stared on it horror and everything seemed to slow down. Blossom dropped her sword from her hand and slowly fell to her knees before leaning forward to vomit some blood.

Blade took off running for her so as to save her while out of nowhere and moving at an unbelievable speed, a flash of white flew in, snatched away the scythe from Blossom's stomach and attacked Kare with his own weapon fiercely. The weapon disintegrated under the onslaught and I saw the flash of a key-shaped blade and watched as Kare lost a claw before the ball of white light kicked away from him and soon approached Blossom to call, "Healing Hand" right along with Blade.

Another demon exploded out of the shack behind me, causing it to collapse, and flew forward to take hold of both Kare and his lost claw and rapidly left for parts unknown.

"Be okay, Mama, onegai, be okay!" I heard a small voice say in a whine just before bursting out crying, that was when the light dissipated and I saw little Bright with her hands upon her mother's back while Blade had his hand upon her stomach.

"Something tells me that that thing that just took Kare away was Kanojo" I heard Bash surmise as I turned to look at him.

Blossom was lying supine upon the ground with her head on Blade's lap and little Bright sobbing into her hands while kneeling beside her mother. Berry slowly approached and turned Bright to cry against her chest while holding and trying to comfort the young girl.

I then approached to kneel down on the other side of Blossom and bowed my head to pay my respects to them when I noticed Blossom slowly reach up an arm to stroke Bright's hair and we all turned to look into her face. Blossom looked weak and tired, but she still managed to offer a smile to Bright.

The Professor soon arrived in his van and pulled a stretched out from the back to bring it over. Together, he and Blade moved Blossom onto the stretched when Baron, Bash, and Boomer helped Blade in lifting the stretcher to carry it over to and set Blossom down in the back of the van. Blade and Bright were permitted to ride in the van while the rest of us followed by air and we arrived at the lab where Ken and the Professor were able to run a C.T. Scan of her abdomen to determine whether or not Blade and Bright had been successful in completely healing her.

When I walked into the hallway, I saw Blade sitting in a chair while holding Bright as she quietly sobbed into his shoulder while repeatedly murmuring, "I tried to get there quicker, I really tried."

Kaoru soon entered the hallway, approached, and kneeled down before them as and began to gently tell them, "It's going to be alright, you'll see; Blossom's a fighter."

The Professor then stepped out of the room and told us, "Momoko is going to be just fine. She'll be weak for a while and should therefore remain in bed, but I figure in about a week or so, she'll be pretty much back to normal."

"Nani exactly do you mean by 'pretty much'?" I asked on their behalf.

"Well, I wouldn't expect her appetite to be quite the same and I don't know about, well, her reproductive abilities, and I really wouldn't expect her to want to return to being Blossom anymore. Not to mention that I don't know nani kind of mental or emotional damage such an experience could cause" answered the Professor with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Where's my baby?" we then heard a voice say from the doorway of the examination room and we all turned to see Momoko leaning upon the doorframe and looking as though she just woke up from a nap.

"Mama, Mama, Mama" Bright said excitedly as she ran over to her mother and wrapped her arms around her leg with tears streaming down her cheeks. "I tried to get there sooner, Mama, I really did."

"I know you did; come on, I need another nap and I'd feel better if you joined me" Momoko said as she and Bright entered one of the medical wards where Bright undressed to her underclothes and joined her mother in curling up together and falling asleep.

I took the blanket from Kuriko's hands and entered the room to cover both of them up.

When I stepped back out of the room and gently closed the door behind me, Kuriko was telling Blade, "I called Mom and she's on her way over with Akahana and Anzu."

"Arigato, Kuriko-chan; once Momoko and Suzuko awake from their nap, we'll return home" Luke told her quietly as we all left for the main room so that they wouldn't be disturbed.

Suzuko's POV

Later that evening, after returning home and taking a bath, I now sat in the window of my room and staring up at the stars in the sky while pondering on just exactly nani could have happened to Mama if not for me getting there in time to help Daddy when I finally swore, "I will find you and I will kill you, Kare. Iie one hurts my mama like that and gets away with it."

Momoko's POV

Luke and I were putting the girls to bed together, with me giving them tight, long-lasting hugs as I realized the danger I had been in, when we came upon Suzuko's room and gave pause to hear her make her promise to avenge me.

"Suzuko, where are your clothes?" I asked of her as Luke and I entered her room to see her sitting in her window, without a stitch on.

"I haven't gotten around to putting them on yet" she replied simply before jumping down and heading for her dresser.

I turned to Luke who nodded his head to me in understanding my one small wish and stood back to watch as I stopped Suzuko from dressing and undressed myself to slip into her bed. Luke then tucked us in and kissed us while bidding, "Oyasumi to amai yume."

"Oyasumi to tanoshii yume, Luke, and arigato for understanding" I whispered back to him as Suzuko was already curled up in my arms quietly crying herself to sleep.

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><p><strong>Carly: I do believe she'll keep that promise, too, though with a bit of help from the others.<strong>

**TCW: Little doubt there, but we've still just barely brushed the surface of Part 7.**

**Carly: I dread to ask, but nani more is to come?**

**Next time…**

**Kaoru: We will soon be seeing just nani Kanojo is capable of.**

**Bridgette: Not to mention nani she is capable of when she teams up with Kare.**

**TCW: All this and still much more coming soon.**

**Carly, Momoko, and Suzuko: Meanwhile, be sure to leave us some nice reviews!**


	69. Blossom Steps Down

**Arigato for your many kind reviews. I dedicate this chapter to my friend, Carly, as she, too, had to step down. But now she's back, so the party can resume once more as we enjoy the following...  
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><p><strong>Blossom Steps Down<strong>

The next day, while everyone else sat around the lab plotting our next course of action, I sat off to the side sitting with the children. The others seemed to notice this, but made iie mention of it during the meeting.

"We know that they're hiding in the woods somewhere; I say we take this to Fuzzy Lumpkins and let his strong desire to protect his property take over and thus flush those demons out" offered Kaoru.

"I don't think that's such a good idea; we wouldn't want Fuzzy getting hurt on our behalf" commented Miyako in return.

"Have you any suggestions, Momoko-chan?" Kaarii inquired of me.

"Gomen nasai, I wasn't paying any attention; nani did you say?" I asked in reply, feigning innocence as I really had iie interest in becoming involved.

The group went silent while I went back to playing with the children.

"You really can't blame her for not wanting to take part after nani happened yesterday" Kuriko noted quietly.

The others nodded their heads in agreement while I wiped away a few tears that were starting to fall. My girls must have noticed as they came over to sit closer and tighter against me while we continued quietly playing together.

Kare's POV

"Fine place for two superior beings as us to be hiding…in a cave" I groused to Kanojo.

"It's only until your claw heals" Kanojo replied in annoyance.

"Arigato for reattaching my claw for me" I told her appreciatively; it really wasn't her fault that we were hiding in a cave anyways.

"You do realize that the only way those Powerpuffs could have ever figured out where we were hiding would be because your runaway humans told them" she informed me in an angry tone.

"Hai, we really must make an example of them for turning against us like that" I replied as I stepped out into the warm sunlight.

"All in good time, but for now we must consider summoning the master to help us in destroying those Powerpuffs Z" she noted to me.

"Finally taking my earlier suggestion under advisement?" I asked of her smartly.

"Don't get so smug, Kare. I'm only thinking on it since there are so many of them against the two of us…to say little of the damage that that one little Power-pest can cause us" Kanojo replied angrily.

"Well, I only have half of the incantation required to summon the master" I told her.

"I know, and I have the other half hidden down in the depths of the ocean. And with your vulnerability to the cold, it looks like I'm on my own with this one" Kanojo replied.

"Be careful, you still don't know the abilities of these Powerpuffs Z yet" I cautioned her; it wasn't that I cared or anything, just that I can't summon forth our master without her.

She just quietly nodded her head and took off to return to the sea while I decided to lounge in the sunlight.

Kaoru's POV

"Look like there's to be a change of plans, guys; I'm picking up a single dark signature on a course for the sea and it's moving rapidly" Ken announced from his computer to the rest of us.

"Then it looks like the battle is heading for our turf; let's go" Kanta announced as he, Isamu, Rikiya, and I rose up and started for the backdoor with our little ones right behind us.

"You're going to need some extra muscle out there" noted Kaarii in concern.

"Un, but who of you can help us?" Isamu asked in honesty when I noticed Momoko's muscles tighten up before she snatched up her three girls and started to move away from the rest of us.

"Iie, worries, we've already got some extra muscle" I told them as I pulled out my cell phone and called up Naru at the aquarium to release Akihiro into the sea for me.

We then left out the door, transformed into our Powerpuff Mermaid Z and Panthalessa Boy Z forms and flew off towards the sea where we soon met up with Akihiro, already in his ultimate form. The majority of the Powerpuffs and Cosmicpuffs Z also tagged along to offer whatever help they could provide us, though their children, Momoko, and Kaarii had remained behind.

Kaarii's POV

After seeing that the little ones were all under the watchful eyes of their sofubo-tachi, I turned to notice that Momoko was still sitting in the room with her girls asleep not too far away. Quietly directing her to the daidokoro, I began making us a cup of tea before joining her at the table.

"So…do you think you'll ever become Blossom again?" I asked of her; it was the one question that everyone else had been wondering but none dared to ask aloud while in front of Luke.

With a loud, audible sigh, Momoko replied, "I don't know."

"The team still needs you" I told her in our defense.

"I know, but…it's just not something that I can explain" Momoko replied.

"Why not; do you think I'm too stupid to understand?" I shot back in frustration.

"Kaarii, try to be reasonable! I got shot full of dark energy so that my blood and organs were on the verge of literally boiling and then I had a scythe run through my stomach! If you think you could tolerate those kinds of terrifying experiences, then be my guest!" she yelled back in anger and with tears in her eyes.

I gave pause at that moment to digest nani she had just told me in silence.

"I had to be saved by my little girl both times…I'm supposed to be protecting her, not the other way around" Momoko added as she broke down sobbing.

Standing up, I came around the corner of the table to take hold of her and letting her cry against me, I just quietly rubbed her back while trying to provide her some comfort. Giving her words some thought, I began to realize that I never really understood that which she had been forced to endure nor did I understand how being rescued by your own child can make you feel.

Pulling away from me, Momoko stood up and started to walk back out into the lounge when she paused to tell me, "When I was younger, I could handle my own, but now…I'm inadequate and impotent." She then continued on her way and was soon lying down beside her girls to take a nap along with them.

I remained silent, but sat down to watch over them while getting lost in my own thoughts. Twenty minutes into their naps and all four of them awoke with a start and said, "Daddy needs us!" Jumping up to their feet, Momoko's girls quickly transformed before turning back to look at their mother who seemed to be in a mental argument with herself when she finally took on a determined look and called out, "Stellar Blossom".

"Let's go girls" she said and they soon made ready to take flight when I decided to follow them to provide them with some backup, though mostly for Blossom.

Kaoru's POV

When we came within range of the ruins in which Kanojo was searching, we were quickly met with heavy opposition in the form of an army of Dark Mermaids and outnumbering us ten to one. At my direction, Akihiro led the charge into battle with a loud screech that helped to paralyze a few of them before the lines divided to swim around him and come straight on for the rest of us.

A group armed with swords headed straight for Lucia but she blocked their attacks with her battle fans before using her fans to create an underwater current that sent her attackers rocketing away from her and colliding into a reef where they turned into a bunch of fish and swam off.

"Don't hold back, guys! They're just a bunch of fish that have been made to look like mermaids" she then called out to the rest of us and thus the kid-gloves came off.

I swam down into another charge of mermaids, zapping them with a barrage of energy blasts from my trident and thus rendering them back into fish as well.

Baron and Blade, using re-breathers so as to breathe underwater, had a number of unusually large mermaids heading for them. One managed to get in close enough to snatch away Baron's re-breather before he could kick her away and took off for the surface as he could iie longer fight.

Blade was holding his own through most of it when many mermaids took hold of him from behind and knocked his sword from his grasp and I could see the concern in his eyes when they were overpowering him and one was now reaching for his re-breather.

A red streak suddenly shot through the water with a white, lavender, and apricot streak close behind and plowed into the gang of mermaids who were trying to drown Blade. I then notice Blossom take hold of Blade with Bright, Burst, and Butterfly helping to take him up to the surface.

Kanta had looked up just in time as Blade's sword was heading for him, took hold of the large sword, and with one swipe decimated the mermaids he had been fighting with when I called out, "Get it to the surface and check up on Blade!"

Nodding his head, Kanta took off for the surface but was met by Isamu as she took hold of the sword so as to return it to Blade.

Blossom's POV

My girls and I were at the surface, holding onto Blade while trying to encourage him to wake up and take breath when Isamu's head soon broke the surface and passed Blade's sword over to Bright before returning to the battle down below.

"Come on, Daddy, you've got to breathe!" shouted Burst hoping to get her father to awake.

"Balloon Catcher" I heard a familiar voice call out as we were ensnared in a giant bubble.

With Baron helping, Bubbles directed us back to shore where she popped the bubble we were in. I then reached over and tore open Blade's shirt and listening to his heartbeat before performing chest compressions and giving him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation while Bubbles took hold of my girls and leading them back a little bit so as to let me work.

"Come on, you've got to breathe!" I said after performing ten rounds upon him and finally slammed both of my fists down upon his chest as I was on the verge of collapse.

Blade suddenly sat up and turned over to spew the sea water from his lungs and began coughing quite violently when I reached forward and embraced him while releasing a tirade of tears out of relief for his still being alive.

"We've got to back into the battle" I heard him say as he turned to look back out to sea.

"Nani?" I asked of him in confusion as he reached for his sword which I firmly grasped hold of to keep it away from him; not an easy task given how heavy a weapon his buster sword was.

"Come on, Blossom-chan, I need my sword to help Kaoru and the others fight off those demons" he insisted of me.

"Are you freaking nuts? You were almost killed by them!" I shouted back in anger while indicating for the girls to take away his sword.

"She's right, Blade-sempai; without being able to breathe properly underwater the way the Mermaids and Panthalessa Boys can, we're at too much of a risk of drowning" Bubbles added while holding him back along with Baron.

"Daijobu, you win; we've got little chance of surviving in such an environment" Blade said as he dropped to sit upon the sand in defeat.

"I know it's hard to admit defeat, but we can't win every battle" I told him as I dropped to my knees beside him so as to embrace him once more.

"Good luck, Isamu-chan, Kaoru-chan" Blade then quietly bid to his shimai-tachi with a sigh.

Isamu's POV

Leaving Blade's sword behind in the care of my mei-tachi, I returned to the battle scene to find many more Dark Mermaids zipping about in the water, throwing a wide range of assaults upon my teammates.

"Everyone, head for the surface, now" I shouted out to the others and they began to follow my lead to fly up and out of the water with Akihiro at our sides.

Turning back to the water, where many of the other mermaids resided, just under the surface and glaring at us, I then pulled out my lance, nodded to Kaoru who understood my intent, and we both shot bolts of electrical energy into the water, electrocuting all of them at once. Once we ended our attack upon them, they all reverted back into a myriad of different fishes and swam away just before Akihiro splashed back down into the water.

"Wait, where's Lucia-chan?" Kaoru then asked while looking around frantically.

"She must still be down there; I sure hope she didn't get electrocuted also!" Kanta said as he led us back down into the water.

Lucia's POV

Smoothing my hair back down after having gotten a bit of a static charge from Mama's and Isamu-san's attacks, I took off in pursuit of Kanojo to find her inside yet another undersea temple and rummaging through debris and muttering to herself.

"It's got to be around her somewhere in this mess" Kanojo muttered to herself.

"Whirlpool Dance" I shouted as I opened my fans and began to perform a spinning dance that created a whirlpool to cause even more debris to fall to the floor and upon Kanojo. "Ha! You won't find it now!"

"You accursed little pest; as soon as I can pull myself out from under this rubble, I'm going to make a meal out of you!" Kanojo yelled at me and so I made ready to do battle with her.

"You can try, Kanojo, but admit it, this battle is over. My mama and obachan have beaten your creatures and I've only further buried whatever it is that you are looking for" I yelled back while holding my battle fans in front of me to shield myself from any of her attacks.

"That's nani you think; you've actually uncovered the tablet which I required to bring my Master back to this mortal realm" Kanojo informed me before slipping out from under the rubble she had been half buried beneath and snatched up the rectangular stone tile that was resting upon a pedestal and started to swim away until she was met by Mom and the others.

"Destroy the tablet in her hands!" I called out to the others as they were approaching.

We engaged in another battle with Kanojo, but she kept many of us away with blasts from her claws and tail. Akihiro swam within range and let out another strong screech that paralyzed Kanojo long enough for me to swim in and snatch the tablet from her hands and headed straight for the surface.

"You must have forgotten that even I know how to fly" I heard Kanojo say as she was hot on my heels.

"Omedeto, now you're on my turf" I heard another voice say and we both turned to see Blossom-san hovering nearby and with a strong look of hatred in her eyes.

"Don't vex me" cautioned Kanojo as she took hold of my ankle and made ready to blast me with an orb of dark energy.

"Boomerang Ribbon" Blossom-san said as she removed her bow and threw it into Kanojo's chest where it exploded on contact so that she released me to fly over to and thus hide behind Blossom-san.

"Now you've gone and really made me mad!" Kanojo started to say when we heard another voice say, "Cross-Blade Blast" and an X-shaped blast of energy slammed into Kanojo so as to blow her further away from us.

"We can't keep this up for long" Bridgette-san said to us as she lowered herself down to take me into her arms.

"We have to destroy this tablet" I told them quickly.

"I'm going to kill all three of you!" Kanojo shouted as she flew towards us.

"Stellar Wave" Blossom-san said as she pulled back an energy orb and soon threw it forward as a powerful beam of energy flew out from her hands and sent Kanojo rocketing away from us and splashing back down into the water. "Ite, hot…hot…hot" Blossom-san was soon saying as she shook her hands after using her attack.

"Kind of makes you wonder how Blade and Bright are able to do it without burning their own hands" Bridgette-san said as she was still holding onto me.

"Lucia-chan, toss the tablet up into the air as hard as you can" I heard Bright call out to me and so I threw the tablet up into the air as Bright pulled back her hands and said, "Celestial Blast" as she released a similar attack as her mama had just used to destroy the tablet.

"Great, now let's head back to the lab and get some rest" I then heard Daddy say as he and Mama, each with one of my shimai-tachi in their arms, and the others close behind.

Momoko's POV

When we returned to the lab, we set our children down for their well-deserved naps before returning to the lounge where I was allowed to set my hands down in a bowl full of cold water and ice.

"And here we were thinking that you had stepped down, Momoko-chan" noted Kaoru to me.

I made iie comment but just quietly shrugged my shoulders.

"She did step down for a moment, but then she stepped up so as to help me…and I'm glad she did" Luke replied on my behalf and again the tears began to fall.

Kaarii then stood up and came over to sit beside me as she checked my hands; they were still red, but more from the cold than from being burned. She then dried my hands off for me and wrapped her arms around me in a hug.

"I also owe you a great deal of gratitude to you, Momoko-chan. I could have lost Lucia if not for you stepping in when you did" Kaoru said as she stood up and politely bowed towards me though I couldn't help but find it a reason to start crying a bit harder.

The children awoke and soon both Lucia and Suzuko were climbing up into my lap to tightly embrace me so that I just curled up with them in my arms and soon fell asleep with them doing the same.

Luke's POV

"At least we can all rest a bit since Suzuko was able to destroy the tablet that would have allowed Kare and Kanojo to summon their master" noted Josh quietly.

"Hai, but for nani are the chance of their knowing of another way to summon that creature" Takaaki pondered aloud while also keeping his voice low enough so as not to disturb them.

"We'll take our rest while we can and get back to trying to find and annihilate Kare and Kanojo tomorrow" I noted while staring down at Momoko as she napped with the two small girls.

Kanojo's POV

I returned to the cave empty clawed and feeling rather vexed when Kare glanced up at me to ask, "Were you successful?"

"Iie, I wasn't. First it was the wrong location and then I had to fight with those damned Power-pests and their blasted whale" I shouted back in aggression. "But I do have some good news: I now remember where my tome is buried" I then added lightly.

"Good, then we will soon be able to summon the master back to assist us in destroying the Powerpuffs Z and taking control of this pathetic planet once again" Kare commented in return before laying back to further warm himself in the sun.

"Fine, but we had best rest up for the venture; those Powerpuffs will be on our tails as soon as we get started" I cautioned him and, despite the sneer on his face, he nodded his head in agreement.

Momoko's POV

Once Lucia, Suzuko, and I awoke from our nap along with the rest of the children, we all returned home. Luke permitted me to enjoy the o-furo with our girls while he prepared dinner for us. After dinner and the girls had been tucked into their beds for the night, Luke and I entered our room where we made love to one another until we collapsed into bed from sheer exhaustion and even then we just held onto each other while quietly crying as we realized just how close we came to losing each other over the last few days. Snuggling up together, we started to drift off to sleep, though, nagging in the back of our minds, we both wondered nani the next day would bring and how much of a risk would we be putting ourselves in. At the thought of this, we tightened our grips on each other before finally falling asleep.

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><p><strong>Carly: Arigato for the dedication on this chapter, TCW-kun.<br>**

**TCW: Doitashimashite, I'm just glad to have you back with us.  
><strong>

**Carly: Domo arigato. So nani is in store for the next chapter?  
><strong>

**Next time…**

**Kaoru: I'd heard the legends and lore about the monster, but I had always thought it was just stuff adults made up to scare children into behaving.**

**Kaarii: Kare and Kanojo were bad enough but now we have to contend with this menace, too?**

**TCW: What is it that they're talking about? Stay tuned to find out!**

**Momoko: Onegai, while you're waiting, leave a nice review so that TCW-sama knows that some of you out there are genuinely interested. Otherwise, he may decide not to continue and that would really be a sad thing to have happen.**


	70. The Rise of Kaosu

**Arigato for the many reviews. Gomen for the late updates, but it isn't easy trying to recreate some of these newer chapters. Also, I've added a few more words and their definitions to the list on my profile page as well as adding a poll in regards to one of my older stories, so onegai, feel free to check them out. Now, without further ado, let get back to the action with…**

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><p><strong>The Rise of Kaosu<strong>

In spite of our deepest fears of losing one another, Luke and I set out on a patrol of the city to see if we could find and stop Kare and Kanojo from summoning forth their master.

"Nothing to report from the forest; we even asked Fuzzy if he'd seen anything but he just looked at us in surprise that Kare was back" Bubbles reported as she and Baron rejoined us.

"We didn't find anything either from the western shores either" noted Isamu and Kanta as they returned from the western side of Honshu.

"Nothing to report from the bottom of the sea" Kaoru reported in with Rikiya beside her.

Kaarii's POV

Josh and I were busy at the bakery, getting ready for the morning's guests when two strange individuals walked in through the door; one male, one female, and both wearing trench coats and hats.

"Ohayo, how may we assist you today?" I greeted them warmly with a polite bow.

"How about letting us read your mind?" the woman said as she and her companion threw off their trench coats and hats to reveal their true identities: Kare and Kanojo.

Kare pinned Josh against the tall display freezer while Kanojo threw me to the floor and held me down while slowly reaching up on claw and setting it upon my forehead while I uselessly struggled against her.

"Ah, nani a delightfully dark past you have, but it's not really nani I am interested in" she told me while the images she was reading flashed through my head at unbelievable speeds. "I've got nani we came for, Kare; let's go."

With that, the two left out of the bakery in a rush of wind and black particles.

"Are you alright, Kaarii-chan?" Josh asked as he knelt down beside me.

"Iie, I'm not; they're going to destroy the lab and kill our friends, with iie thanks to me" I said as I gave way to tears.

"Not if I can help it" called out Sherbet as she flew out the door and headed for the lab.

Sherbet's POV

Okay, so maybe flying wasn't exactly the smart thing to do, but I had to do whatever I could to save our friends. Fortunately for me, I saw the two people I was looking for heading in my direction and so I put on as much speed as I could to catch up with them.

"Wait for me, Blade-sama!" I called out as loudly as I could, though I didn't expect him to respond since I was so small and he was flying much faster than me.

Blossom's POV

Blade suddenly gave pause and I soon returned to hover beside him as I asked, "Nani is wrong?"

"I could have sworn I just heard someone calling to me" Blade informed us.

Searching around us, we finally spotted Sherbet, huffing and puffing, and trying her best to fly quickly in short bursts, and so we lowered down to catch the little Sweets Spirit while permitting her to catch her breath.

"I thought I heard a familiar voice calling me" Blade said as he took Sherbet into his hands.

"Kare and Kanojo just attacked the bakery. Kanojo read Kaarii's mind and is now going to destroy the lab and whoever is inside of it" she finally shouted after drawing in a deep breath of air.

Blade set her into his pocket and cautioned her, "Hang on tight."

Once he buttoned the flap on his vest pocket, we all turned and took off at our best speeds to get to the lab before Kare and Kanojo could arrive.

Upon arrival and without ceremony or explanation, we flew inside and grabbed up Kuriko, Ken, and their children before retreating back out and away just before a large amount of black energy crashed down upon and obliterated the lab.

"Had we casually entered and sat down as we normally do, we'd all be dead right now" noted Bubbles aloud while holding Kouji.

"I just realized that myself" I replied while holding onto Kumiko.

"That's all good and well, but can we onegai go somewhere where I can put on some clothes!" shouted Kuriko as she was wet and quite undressed as Blade had snatched her out of the shower.

"Our place" Blade said to the rest of us and we all nodded our heads in agreement as we flew off towards our house.

Thankfully I was able to find some clothes for Kuriko to slip into and she was soon joining the rest of us downstairs in the living room.

"I'm going to take Sherbet home; will you all be alright while I'm gone?" Blade inquired of the rest of us

"Hai, but be careful, we don't know if Kare and Kanojo spotted us escaping from the lab or not" I told him while sharing a kiss before he left out the door.

"Oh iie!" screamed Kuriko after I had closed the door.

"Nani is it, Kuriko-chan?" Bubbles asked of her concernedly.

"My power belt was hanging on the towel rod in the furoba" Kuriko informed us before sinking into the couch in disbelief.

"We'll go back and check over the wreckage of the lab once Luke get back" I told her reassuringly while watching the children playing together, though Kouji seemed to be keeping to himself since he was still in his pajamas while Kumiko was able now dressed in one of Akahana's dresses.

"I'll return home and get some clothes for Kouji" Baron volunteered and kissed Bubbles on the cheek before leaving as well.

By the middle of the afternoon, we had called up and met all of our friends at the wreckage of the lab and began to rummage through everything to see if we could recover anything. Blade managed to find Kuriko's power belt and Kaoru found both Kouji's and Kumiko's power belts.

The Professor and his wife soon arrived and began to go over the ruins with us when the Professor asked, "Has anyone checked to see if the hanger and subterranean lab are still operational?"

"You have a subterranean lab?" I asked in surprise.

"Dad and I added it on while you were in your first year of high school. And iie, not yet, Dad, we were more concerned with finding the Kuriko's and our children's power belts" Ken replied while walking over to the trap door that led down to the underground lab and hanger; these were the only parts that had been left undamaged.

Soon even Mayor Bellum arrived to look over the extent of the damage before saying, "The city will help pay for replacing the main lab."

"Small comfort" Kuriko muttered.

"Take it easy, Kuriko-chan; we'll all help out, too" Luke told her in a gentle voice.

"Arigato, Luke, but with all due respect, it's going to be a waste of time if those…so-and-so demons are still running around and able to destroy it over and over again" Kuriko replied angrily.

"Daijobu, there's little else that can be done here for the time being so let's go home. You two can sleep in our room, Ken; Luke and I will sleep in the onsen" I announced to the group and everyone agreed with me.

We started to walk away when we gave pause to notice Kaarii, down on her knees and crying while saying aloud, "God knows nani other important information they managed to take from me…and I was powerless to stop them."

"You can't blame yourself for this, Kaarii-chan. They could have taken the same information from any of us, but for some unknown reason they chose to take it from you" Luke told her in a comforting tone.

"Here's a question: Why attack the lab anyways?" Ami inquired innocently.

"Because we normally meet there after running patrols or fighting battles; we'd have been sitting ducks if not for Sherbet-chan's warning us" Miyako informed her.

"Not only that, but if they had been successful in killing any of us, we'd be too distraught to attempt fighting and thus keeping them from summoning forth their master" added Isamu as she turned to look up at her oniisan in concern.

Luke must have sensed her concern as he turned around and gave her a tight, reassuring hug and soon even Ami was joining them.

"So does this mean that they may have been successful in attaining nani they needed to summon him back?" Pazu then asked.

"Some way, somehow, they must have. In spite of our best efforts to keep them from succeeding, they succeeded anyways" Takaaki surmised for us.

"Can we continue this later, I really want to get home to my girls" I noted to the others while trying not to whine.

"Momoko's right; we really should be getting home to the children" agreed Ami while setting a hand upon my shoulder.

"Daijobu, we'll meet up tomorrow morning to discuss our next course of action" Luke announced and we all climbed into our vehicles and left for home.

Kaarii's POV

The next day, as per agreement, we all met up at the property that the lab had been standing upon to discuss our next move, though I remained quietly listening through most of it.

Of course, the arguing was enough to give anyone a headache until Luke's voice cut through the din, "Look, I know we're all a little angry, concerned, and hurt over this attempted assault upon us, but let's not give in to those two demons' will of creating unrest amongst ourselves. The lab can be rebuilt with some effort, but friendships are much harder to mend."

"Not to mention that we should be setting an example to our children" Miyako added quietly.

"How exactly did Kare and Kanojo discover our Achilles' Heel anyways?" inquired Kanta in annoyance.

Everyone turned and looked at me so that I stepped behind Josh so as to remain unseen.

"Let's not look to blame anyone here. Besides, as I remember it Kaarii-chan didn't have any choice in the matter and they could have taken the information from any one of us" Takaaki told the others, though it did little to help the feeling of guilt I was experiencing.

"So nani is our next move?" Ami asked of iie one in particular.

"Good question; any suggestions, Kaarii-chan?" Luke asked of me.

"I think you'd be better off asking someone else" I replied quietly.

"Come one, Kaarii-chan, you're still our team's tactician; we rely upon you to help us make these kinds of decisions" Momoko offered me, but I just remained quiet.

"Maybe we should try and find where their master is buried before they do and destroy him before they can summon him back" offered a small voice in the crowd and everyone turned to look down at Lucia as she stood beside her mother.

"That's easier said than done, Lucia-chan; we don't have any idea as to where in the world his resting place is located" Rikiya told her.

"At the dump" Akahana then said while playing with her shimai-tachi.

"How do you know that?" Momoko asked of her in confusion.

"It was printed on the tome that Lucia took from Kanojo" Anzu said simply.

"Daijobu, let me rephrase your mother's question: That tome was written over a millennia ago and therefore millennia before the dump was even created, so just how in the world did you surmise that the location would be there?" asked Josh in disbelief.

"The location's appearance and use may change, Jones-san, but latitude and longitude remain the same with minor adjustments based upon tectonic activity" Suzuko explained in a matter-of-fact manner.

"Child's smart as a whip" commented Josh to Luke.

"If you knew that, why didn't you say something sooner?" Momoko asked of her girls.

"You didn't ask" the trio replied in unison and causing the rest of us to fall over sideways.

"Next time you know something important like that, just volunteer the information" Isamu told the girls.

"HAI!" the girls replied agreeably.

"We're going to need breathing masks if we go there" cautioned Miyako.

"Gomen, but I'm afraid that they're in my other suit" Kuriko grumbled in anger while watching as the remains of the lab were plowed away by a bulldozer.

"We can improvise with bands of cloth and either perfume or cologne" I offered quietly.

"I'm pleased to see that you've got your head back in the game, Kaarii-chan" Luke noted to me with an encouraging smile.

I just lightly smiled back as I still felt responsible for the lab's destruction.

Kare's POV

Kanojo and I soon stood atop a crane and looking down upon our master's resting place in shock.

"Kaosu isn't going to like being brought back to life from the bottom of a garbage pile" I noted to Kanojo.

"Iie, he isn't, but this is where he is, so we iie other choice in the matter" Kanojo replied. "You did remember to bring the amulet, didn't you?"

"Of course, I have it right here" I replied as I held up the amulet which would create the portal to allow Kaosu to return from his place of slumber.

Holding her claw up in the air, Kanojo created a shield around us lest those accursed Powerpuffs attempt to stop us.

"Amulet born of Hell's and Hatred's fires, open forth the portal" I spoke the first line of the incantation.

"Bring forth our Master to enslave all mortals. Open and Release" Kanojo finished the incantation as a portal of red and black swirling energies was created.

"Rise and Conquer, Master Kaosu!" we spoke together as his horns rose up some ten feet into the air followed by his head and then the rest of him.

"I LIVE!" Kaosu spoke as the portal vanished and began laughing maniacally until he caught whiff of just exactly where we were. "My word, nani is that horrible stench? Not even death smells that foul!"

"The humans call it a dump and their trash is collected to be dispensed of here" Kanojo informed him with a humble bow; ever the bootlicker.

"Well, the stuff they can't recycle at any rate" I added in, though I refrained from bowing since the only reason Kaosu was alive was because we summoned him forth.

"So the humans turned my resting place into a place to dispense of their garbage, I'll punish them for that."

"I'm afraid you have bigger issues than that to contend with right now, Master Kaosu" Kanojo informed him and we all turned to notice the Powerpuffs heading our way.

Blossom's POV

Coming to a stop so as to hover in the air, we all stared in surprise and terror as we laid eyes upon the monster that now stood in the middle of the garbage dump.

"I always wondered nani that stench was, now I know; it was that thing" Kaoru said in jest while indicating the monster which now stood before us.

"They've got an energy shield up over them" Berry noted to us quietly.

"That monster has only a small fraction of his true power; we need to break through their shield and attack before it has time to reach its full potential" Bridgette suggested as she unsheathed her katana-tachi.

"Why does that thing look kind of familiar?" Isamu inquired aloud.

"I don't know, but his choice of clothing is way out of style. I mean, who wears barbarian-chic in this day and age?" asked Bubbles in distaste.

"Is now really a good time to discussion fashion do's-and-don'ts with a monstrous demon like that?" Baron asked of her.

"Blossom, if you want to sit this one out, I won't blame you in the least" Blade said to me as I was hiding behind him and with my cheek pressed firmly against his back.

If ever I felt at odds with myself, now was the worst time ever. A large part of me wanted to scream and run back home to hide with my girls, but there was the part of me, the Powerpuff part of me, that knew I had a responsibility to fight alongside of my teammates that made me want to stay and fight.

"Iie, I'll stay" I replied to him and we shared a kiss that we silently prayed wouldn't be our last.

"They just lowered their shield; everyone, I suggest we follow Blade's and Blossom's example" Baron suggested and all turned to share a kiss with their spouse before preparing for battle.

"Who are these foolish mortals that have come to die so soon?" asked the monster before us of Kare and Kanojo.

"Someone's a little too sure of himself" Kanta said in a cocky manner.

Lightning quick, the demon shot forward and return to where he had originally been standing with me in his grasp.

"I knew I should have listened to my more rational half" I shouted out in fear.

"Don't worry, once I crush you and absorb your friends' sorrowful energies, I'll send them along to join you" the demon told me.

"I don't think so; Solar Flare!" Blade told him as he blasted the demon in the face at point-blank range.

Releasing me while grasping hold of his face in pain, Blade took the opportunity to catch me and we rejoined our friends.

Kaosu was soon coming back at us in anger for Blade's attack when a giant, pink-clad, robotic girl that was twice the height of the old Dynamo Z flew forward and slammed Kaosu in the chest with her leg before jumping back to stand beside us.

"You all may wish to step inside before that thing comes back" instructed the Professor's voice from within the massive robot as many hatches opened up to us.

"Let's not take his offer for granted; everyone, inside" Blade instructed us as we all flew inside of the robot and took a seat.

"Kuso! I'm going to tear the lot of you apart!" Kaosu shouted at us as he stood back up and began to advance upon us.

Taking up a battle-ready stance, we all braced for another attack from Kaosu only to watch in surprise as he stepped into and, taking hold of Kare and Kanojo, fell through it to wherever it was that the portal sent them.

Peering down in surprise, we all saw Bright, Burst, and Butterfly standing down below on the ground and giggling.

"GET YOUR LITTLE O-SHIRI-TACHI UP INSIDE OF THIS ROBOT RIGHT NOW!" I shouted at the three of them so that they cringed and immediately began to obey me.

"Ojisan, if you would be so kind as to get us back to the lab, we'd really be most appreciative of it" Blade said as I now had my three girls with me.

Above the Antarctic Ocean and Kanojo's POV

The portal opened in the sky and out fell Kaosu, with me and Kare still clutched in his grasp, crashing down into the ocean below and crushing a whaling fleet so that the ships sank to the bottom.

Spitting sea water from his mouth as he resurfaced, Kaosu grumbled, "I hate portals."

"Cold, cold, cold, cold, cold" Kare griped as he shivered and began shrinking due to the loss of energy.

"Where did that portal even come from?" I asked in confusion.

"We'll figure that part out later; right now we need to get back to shore. I think we'll stop off somewhere warm first" Kaosu told them as he and I began swimming back towards Japan while I placed Kare into a bubble to drag him along with us.

Blossom's POV

Watching as Blade talked with the girls, I listened to them patiently though I really wanted to bare and warm their backsides with my hand, "We really appreciate your creating that portal when you did, but do you know where the portal went?"

"Somewhere over the ocean" Bright replied nervously.

"Why send them somewhere over the ocean?" Kaosu asked of them gently.

"They smelled bad and we thought they could use a bath" Butterfly replied on her shimai's behalf.

"She does make a good point there" Rikiya commented in minor jest until I shot him a dirty look.

"Is this question-and-answer session over; I'd really like to get their spankings over and done with right now" I told Blade a bit firmly.

"But we helped you" whined Burst.

"And while that was greatly appreciated, that does not detract from the fact that you left without telling either me of your ojiisan" Mom added as she and I took their hands into ours and began to lead them out of the room.

"Belay that punishment and send them to take their naps" Blade told us and we stopped to look at him in questioning, though I was rather miffed with his overruling me.

Even the other girls were looking at him in disapproval of his actions, but they all remained silent as he continued, "Let's not forget how their intervention, especially Bright's, saved both of our lives. And with this intervention, we are now given the opportunity to learn how to use this new mech in our war with Kare, Kanojo, and Kaosu."

I looked down towards Bright as Blade reminded me of the two times she saved my life and now it was my turn to feel guilty as I added, "And I had every opportunity to leave the scene of our first confrontation with Kaosu but I didn't and almost lost my life a third time."

"Go take your naps, girls" Mom then instructed the three of them and they soon left the room.

"I still think they deserve a spanking for not telling us they were leaving" Dad then added in a bit of annoyance.

"Hai, but then I wouldn't be able to concentrate on Ojisan's discussion on the new mech" Blade returned honestly and we all turned to the Professor to begin listening.

"As you have all seen this new version of the Dynamo Z is built for fighting against Kaosu, though how fully effective it will be has yet to be determined" the Professor started off. "We were used to use nani little data we had been able to compile together from Blossom's, Bubbles', and Kaoru's experiences with Kare from the last time they faced him, but there are still too many variables where Kaosu is concerned for us to put forth any solid details and/or information on him."

"We do know that, much like Kare and Kanojo, since he's been sleeping for so long, he will need to rebuild some of his energy before reaching his top performance levels" Bridgette added to the Professor's information on Kaosu.

"And you can bet that he, too, is impervious to weakness against the cold much like Kanojo is" added Kaoru.

"With your permission, Blade, Blossom, I'd like to speak with Bright after her nap" Ken requested of us.

"May we know as to nani this will inquire?" Blade asked curiously.

"We'd like to talk to her about how her keyblade works" the Professor told us before showing us the video from the dump that we had not seen beforehand: Bright had used her keyblade to open the portal that Kaosu had fallen through and then used her key once again to close it back up.

"Amazing!" Bubbles exclaimed with Baron nodding his head in agreement from beside her.

"I see, you want to figure out how it is that she's able to open and close those portals so as to build one into the new Dynamo Z's weapons system" I surmised in understanding.

"Precisely" the Professor replied simply.

"Something else I remember about her keyblade: she was able to cut off Kare's claw with it" noted Bridgette to the rest of us.

"Was that a special ability of her weapon or just that she was able to maneuver quick enough to dismember his claw?" posed Bash as he recalled that fight.

"I deduce that it's more the latter" Brain added in and we all decided to accept this for the time being.

"Blade, we destroyed a demon back in the U.S. together, do you think it's possible for us to destroy at least one of these three in a similar manner?" I queried as I remembered that *horrible day from so many years ago.

"I don't know, we had divine power on our side with that skirmish" he replied as he wrapped his arms around me to hold me tight to him.

Berry and Isamu looked down at the floor before curling up tighter against their husbands while the others just sent us questioning looks.

"Is there something we should know?" asked Bridgette in concern.

"It's not important; let's remember the blessings we all share that followed that bad memory" Blade reminded the three of us and we all nodded our heads in agreement.

"Well, however it was that you acquired that divine power, it would sure be nice if you could do it again" noted Baron with a sigh.

"Change of topic: Let's discuss our next course of action" Bullet suggested as not even she wish to continue on the subject.

"Kare and Kanojo both required recharging time so I'd assume that even Kaosu would require such a period as well" offered Boomer.

"That does make sense and given that Kaosu is so much larger and powerful than Kare and Kanojo combined, he may even require a longer period of time to regain all of his strength.

"Hai, but that would mean he'd have to hide somewhere in the meantime. Question is: Where would such a demon of that magnitude hide?" pondered Bubbles.

"To say little of the fact that we have very little knowledge of his abilities" added the Professor.

"Then may I suggest collecting up the little ones and taking them home for the night? We can reconvene in the morning to discuss plans of action in the morning" Akira suggested as she entered the room with Kumiko in her arms and the rest of the children following her; our three remained standing with their little backsides to the wall and well out of my reach.

"You're right, Obachan; we'll meet again in the morning. Come on girls, it's time to go" I replied while dropping to my knees and embracing the three of them at once before rising back up and leaving out the door with Luke right behind me and our friends following suit.

Kanojo's POV

We arrived back in Nihon in the middle of the night with Master Kaosu leading us onto the beach disgruntledly.

"These humans always follow a particular figurehead. Tell me, who in this city is the current figurehead that they follow?" Kaosu asked of us after some quiet thinking.

"Gomen nasai, but we haven't been around long enough to learn of this information" Kare replied on our behalf.

"Actually, I think I have an idea as to who it may be" I noted while looking at an advertisement on a bench that read, 'Vote Bellum Sara for Mayor.'

"I have an idea" Master Kaosu said with a nasty smile on his face.

* * *

><p><strong>TCW: I think we'll end it there.<strong>

**Carly: On a cliffhanger; you ending on a cliffhanger?**

**TCW: Hai, and the suspense is killing.**

**Carly: To say the least! *sigh* So nani is in store for the next chapter?**

**Next time…**

**Momoko: Is it me or does something seem different about Bellum-shichou?**

**Kaarii: I know, but we should still be focusing on trying to find and annihilate Kaosu.**

**Luke: I've heard of trouble in the schools, but this is ridiculous!**

**TCW: All this and a whole lot more still to come, so stay tuned.**

**Momoko and Carly: Meanwhile, be sure to favorite and review!**

***Footnote: For those who don't remember the day mentioned, refer back to chapter 51 for details.  
><strong>


	71. Possessed

**Arigato for the reviews and your patience; writing these new chapters isn't exactly easy. Now, let's join our friends as they find some of their own friends are…**

* * *

><p><strong>Possessed<strong>

Mayor Bellum had just entered her office and sat down behind her desk while her secretary poured her a cup of tea, "Arigato, that will be all, Shinobu-san."

"Hai, Mayor Bellum-shichou" she replied with a polite bow before exiting the mayor's office.

Drinking down her tea, Mayor Bellum turned to look at the picture of her late predecessor with a light smile at the happy memories before turning back to her computer to get to work.

A loud scream rang out in the secretary's office and soon Mayor Bellum's own door was blown down as three demons entered her office with the one female saying, "Gomen, Mayor, but I have need of your body."

"Nani are you talking about?" Sara asked in fear just before the she-demon entered and took possession of her.

"Hah, she didn't even put up a slight struggle" Kanojo said as she turned back to face her two companions.

"Excellent, we shall begin taking control from here while I regain my strength" Kaosu said as he gazed out the large window behind the mayor's desk.

"At least the accommodations are comfortable" spoke Kare as he was lounging on the leather couch in the office.

"Enjoy it while you have the chance as soon you will be spreading my dark shadows through the city so as to attack and weaken the Powerpuffs until such point in time I am reenergized and can thus destroy them myself" Kaosu replied with an evil chuckle.

"So nani shall be our first item of business, Master?" Kanojo inquired with a wicked grin.

"I say we have the Powerpuffs arrested and beaten to death" suggested Kare with a chuckle.

"Iie, I want their suffering to be prolonged and painful, but I don't want them dead…yet" Kaosu said while going deep into thought on the subject.

"Nani do we know about the Powerpuffs that could also act as a weakness" posed Kanojo as she began to really think on the matter.

"They have children" Kare said in revelation as he gazed down at the claw that had been cut off.

"Isn't there some place where they send their children to learn the basic fundamentals of life?" Kanojo then asked as she recalled seeing this before.

"Hai, they call it a 'school'" Kare told her.

"Very well, your first assignment Kare is to find this school where the Powerpuffs' brats attend and to use one of my shadows to take possession of the adult which educates them so as to destroy them" Kaosu announced to Kare who rose up from his seat, bowed humbly, and vanished into thin air.

Hotaka's POV

Entering the school, I turned to look back to the others while holding Hikari's hand and even they seemed to be looking around with some confusion on their faces.

"Why's it so dark in here, Oniichan?" Hikari asked of me.

"I don't know, Hikari-chan" I replied while looking over towards Suzuko who seemed to have a scowl on her face.

"Everyone go back outside" Anzu instructed us and we all turned to leave back out of the school as we didn't feel like arguing.

Iie sooner had we left, the darkness faded away and so we all decided to re-enter the school, though we all kept our guard up. We stowed our bags in our cubbies and then sat down at our desks, though I remained standing by Hikari's desk to help her finish up her homework. Kaede was talking with Akahana, Suzuko, and Anzu with Rina soon joining them as they seemed to be in a quiet discussion.

Soon the rest of our classmates and our sensei entered the room and we all sat down in our seats while Hikari dashed to sensei's desk to drop off her homework before returning to her own desk.

However, when Sensei turned around and adjusted his glasses, I shot a concerned look towards Suzuko who, along with the rest of our friends, were now looking at him in shock as Sensei had a black aura surrounding him.

Soon entered Kouchou-sensei who spoke with Sensei before turning around to say to the class, "Would the following students onegai follow me to the gymnasium: Udetsuyoi Lucia, Rina, and Kaori; Jones Hotaka, Hikari, and Kaede; Mizatama Kaito, Makoto, Sakiya, Hyosuke, Chikako, and Benjirou; Ayukai Tomohiro, Youga, and Eri; Utonium Kumiko, Kouji, Suzuko, Akahana, and Anzu."

We all stood up and followed after Kouchou-sensei while our classmates just sent us questioning looks. Upon arrival in the gymnasium, we boys were made to line one half of the back wall while the girls were made to line the other half.

When Kouchou-sensei left the room for a moment, I turned and asked, "Akahana-chan, you're the eldest of us, nani should we do?"

"I'll give you two guesses and the first one won't count" Suzuko replied as she removed the compact from her belt along with her shimai-tachi and the rest of us decided to follow suit.

"Celestial Burst"

"Lunar Butterfly"

"Nebular Bright"

"Meteoric Bison"

"Planetary Beetle"

"Asteroid Blast"

"Cosmicpuffs Z"

"Rolling Bonbon*"

"Hyper Buttercup*"

"Powered Bitter*"

"Kinetic Byte"

"Starry Bloom"

"Icy Blizzard"

"Fierce Blaze"

"Fluttering Breeze"

"Powerpuffs Z"

"Pink Pearl Voice"

"Blue Pearl Voice"

"Yellow Pearl Voice"

"Powerpuff Mermaids Z"

"Red Pearl Power"

"Indigo Pearl Power"

"Orange Pearl Power"

"Panthalessa Boys Z"

Each group posed together for a moment before turning and preparing for a fight once Sensei and Kouchou-sensei returned to the gymnasium to stare at us in surprise.

"It would seem that the Master was correct" Sensei said as he turned to Kouchou-sensei.

"Hai, now let us join together to destroy the lot of them so that the Master may drink their blood" Kouchou-sensei replied and we immediately braced for battle.

Holding their hands out, they summoned every piece of gym equipment as though through telekinesis and having it all gather around them so as to form a tall monster made up of kendo swords, mats, hurdles, tennis racquets, badminton racquets, and various balls and all surrounded and held together by dark energy.

"I'd feel better if Mama was here" noted Bonbon as she tried to hide behind me.

"Tennis Blaster" the monster said as it held up one and began firing tennis balls at us as though they were bullets.

"Fan Shield" said Lucia as she generated a shield of energy with her fans which the tennis balls bounced off of. "I can't keep this up forever, guys!"

"You don't have to, Lucia-chan. Ice Tomb" called Blizzard as she froze the monster in a solid block of ice.

"That was easier than I had expected" noted Bloom with a grin.

"We're not out of the woods yet; it's vibrating!" noted Byte as the creature was slowly starting to move out of its tomb of ice.

"Bamboo Blade" the monster said as it emerged from the block of ice and now held up a large sword made up of many kendo swords and swung it at us.

"Blazing Inferno" shouted Blaze as he released a blast of fire from his hands and lighting the monster's sword on fire.

"Not exactly one of your better moves, Blaze" I commented as we were now trying to dodge getting hit by its blazing sword.

"Whirling Quasar" shouted Burst as her fists started to glow with white energy and she quickly crossed her arms while releasing the energy into two twirling orbs which sliced the blade off of the monster's sword.

Using its other hand the monster soon smacked me and Buttercup away from Bonbon before snatching her up and turning her over as a badminton racquet was released from its other hand.

"Bitter, tasuke" called Bonbon of me as she realized nani was about to happen.

"Nebular Flare" called out Bright as she released a beam of energy from her hands and smacked right into the monster's head so that it was sent reeling from the impact and thus releasing Bonbon from its grasp.

However, for her effort and valiant effort to save my imoto, Bright received a hard hit from the monster so that she was sent flying back and smacking her head against the wall so that she slumped to the floor unconscious. Butterfly ran over to her and noticed a trickle of blood starting to stream down the side of her shimai's head.

"Bright, come on, wake up, Bright" encouraged Blast as he gently patted her cheeks in hopes of rousing the unconscious girl.

"May I have permission to panic now, Oniichan?" inquired Bonbon of me.

"Mat Bind" the monster called as it began shooting gym mats at us so that they wrapped around us to hold us in place; Bonbon and I got wrapped up together.

Buttercup was jumping, leaping, and dodging the monster's every attempt to capture her while pulling attention away from the rest of us.

"Buttercup, run and get us some help; I've got this thing" Blast said as he stood up and made ready to take on the monster.

"You can't handle that thing alone" Bison told his kyodai.

"He isn't alone" Burst said as she cut herself free with her mini buster sword and now stood ready to do battle with the monster as well.

Deciding not to argue the matter Buttercup left to get help. Noticing Bonbon starting to quake with fear, I wrapped my arms around her in a comforting manner until something wet and warm began to dampen us from the waist down.

"Gomen nasai" Bonbon apologized with tears in her eyes.

"It's alright, I'm not mad" I told her gently; I was uncomfortable, but I could never get angry with her, not even if she peed on me.

Leaping into the air and gathering energy into her hands, Burst called out, "Comet Fire" as she released a large orb into the monster's chest only for it to be deflected by a bunch of gym mats.

"If we could only get Sensei and Kouchou-sensei out of that thing, we might just have a fighting chance" noted Blast aloud.

"Hai, well it doesn't seem like that's going to be easy; this thing has padding to spare so as to deflect our attacks off" Burst replied in frustration. "I wish Bright was awake."

"Wait, I have an idea" Blast suddenly announced and was soon sharing his idea with Burst.

"It's risky, but don't see where we have much other choice in the matter" Burst replied as she and Blast dove away from each other to avoid being ensnared together.

Burst quickly spun around and charged towards the monster, jumping up into the air at the last second and with a somersault, dove down to strike the monster atop its head, only to be knocked off and to the hard floor of the gymnasium and breaking an arm in the process.

"Gomen nasai, Burst, I thought it would have worked" Blast apologized as he paused to check on her only to be ensnared along with her.

"At least Buttercup got away unscathed" I noted to the others before watching the monster walk over towards Lucia, stood her up, and made ready to crush her head against the back wall.

"Piercing Light" said a strange voice as a beam of light shot the monster's head clear off.

We all looked up to see who it was that had just beheaded the beast to see Blade enter the room with Mama and Buttercup just behind him.

Again, using telekinesis, the monster reformed its head and turned to glared back at the three newcomers.

"Go help your classmates, Buttercup" Mama instructed her and she was soon running up to me and Bonbon to free us.

"You know, I've heard of ijimekko, but you take the cake" Blade told the beast while studying the creature closely.

"Careful, Daddy, Sensei and Kouchou-sensei are inside of that thing" Burst called out and Blade turned to nod his head to her in understanding.

Lucia's POV

As soon as the monster's head was shot off, it dropped me so that I now lay on the floor and watching in surprise as the one person I was afraid of was now protecting me and the rest of us.

'Iie, he's only protecting Burst, Butterfly, and Bright' I told myself as I realized that he obviously cared little for me.

"I will destroy the two of you as soon as I finish off this little pest" the beast said as it turned back to take a hold of me again.

Bridgette-san shot forward and sliced the beast's hand off so that now she held me in her arms but the creature was still coming.

"I don't think you heard me correctly. I said to leave the children alone and fight me instead" Blade said as he took hold of the monster and flipped it over his back so that it crashed to the floor behind him.

The monster rose up from the floor and started to walk past Blade to come for me yet again only for Blade to come between us as he said, "I don't know nani this attraction for my little mei is, but I'm not going to let you harm her or anyone else in this room, freak."

I looked up at him in surprise, 'Did he just refer to me as his mei? But he's not one of mama's kyodai-tachi…is he?'

The monster gave pause and said, "If you are so eager to die, Mortal, then so be it."

"Do you need any help, Blade?" inquired Bridgette-san in concern.

"Iie, I'm fine" Blade replied while I still couldn't bring myself to tear my eyes away from them as they engaged in battle.

"Tennis Blaster" the beast said as it began firing many tennis balls at Blade only for him to leap out of the way.

"Gomen nasai, tennis was never one of my favorite games; football is more my speed" Blade replied smartly before running up and plowing into the beast's abdomen with his shoulder and barreling straight through it so that both Sensei and Kouchou-sensei were knocked out of it.

"S-Solar Flare" spoke Bright as she raised her hand and shot both men down with a quick burst of energy before falling unconscious once again so that she never saw the two shadows leave out of Sensei and Kouchou-sensei.

"Bright, you fool, you shouldn't have spent that energy" lectured Blast of her in concern while holding her hand as she continued sleeping.

"Ooh, that's a bad gash of the side of her head" Bridgette-san said as she was examining Bright's injury.

"Nani hit me?" asked Sensei with a groan as he awoke and turned to look at us tiredly.

"Why are you all in uniform?" inquired Kouchou-sensei as he was rubbing his forehead.

"Should we tell them?" Bonbon asked of Bitter.

"Iie, the less they know about the incident the better" Bitter replied in a hushed tone.

"It looks like you've got two in need of the emergency room unless you're going to heal them yourself" Bridgette san told Blade as she noticed Burst holding her arm and crying.

"Butterfly, I need you to call Ami and tell her to get a room ready for us" Blade told her and she pulled out her compact to do as he had instructed her. "And when you finish, call your mama so that she can meet us at the hospital."

Butterfly nodded her head in reply as she began talking with Ami-san.

"Can't you heal their injuries without need of taking them to the hospital?" Bridgette-san asked of him.

"I can, but I need to know the extent of their injuries, especially Bright's; there could be some real damage done to her and if I act too soon, she could wind up with some brain hemorrhaging or worse" Blade replied with a look of true concern in his eyes.

"Blade-sama, is nani you referred to Lucia as true; are you really our ojisan?" inquired Kaori of him though from a respectful distance.

"Blade has always revered your mama and even me as being his surrogate shimai-tachi, so in a roundabout way, he is indeed your ojisan…from a particular point of view" Bridgette-san replied in honesty. "And it looks like I've got two in need of being taken home so they can change their clothes."

"Everyone, come to Tokyo Elementary to pick up the children; they're being dismissed early for the remainder of the school day" Blade said into his communicator and soon we all heard the reply of, "We're on our way."

"Bridgette-chan, would you mind watching over the little ones until their parents get here; I'm taking my trio to the hospital" Blade told Bridgette-san.

With that he took Bright up in his arms while Butterfly assisted Burst as they flew out of the school for Tokyo General.

Momoko's POV

I met Blade at the door to the hospital along with Ami and Pazu. As soon as he, Butterfly, and Burst landed, we began giving the girls the once over.

"Let's get these girls down to radiology" Pazu ordered and we followed them.

Since Bright had the worst of the injuries, they performed an X-ray upon her first.

A neurologist soon entered the room along with Pazu and he informed us, "Your daughter has a bad cut along her temple which we may have to stitch closed, but is also suffering a mild concussion. She should be fine in the morning, though she's going to have one awful headache for a while; best to keep things quiet for the next few days."

"That's a relief" I said with a sigh.

"As for your other Burst, they're preparing to set her arm" Ami told us with a smile.

"Couldn't you use your Healing Hand technique on the girls' injuries?" I then asked of Blade.

I can heal Bright's initial head injury, but I'm afraid it won't help her concussion. As for Burst's arm, if I were to heal her, I'd run the risk of fusing her bone structure prematurely so that they won't grow along with her" Blade told me as he reached up and healed the cut on Bright's head.

Noticing the look of confusion upon my face, Ami went into the process of trying to explain the difference between a child's skeletal structure versus that of an adult.

"At least it was her left arm that was broken" Blade then commented so that even I had to reflect on the fact that Burst was right-handed.

All of this while Butterfly was being given a quick once-over to ensure she was uninjured; she was fine.

Taking up our girls' compacts, we changed them back to their normal forms before putting them into the back of my car to drive them home where we put them to bed for the rest of the day.

Kaori's POV

Upon arrival back home, Mama told us to take our baths which we felt iie desire to argue with her over. Rina had just finished scrubbing Lucia's back and I was now working on hers when Mama entered the furoba to help me when I remembered something that Blade-sama had said.

"Mama, is it true that Blade-sama is out ojisan?" I asked of her.

"Hai and iie; you see Blade is more of a surrogate oniisan to me. So while he's not my flesh and blood oniisan, he's always held the persona of being my oniisan" she explained to us.

"Say nani you will, but I refuse to acknowledge him as being my ojisan" Lucia said stubbornly and catching me by surprise.

"Why's that, Lucia-chan?" Mama asked of her.

"Really, I mean, he saved your life" added Rina.

'He wasn't saving me; he was saving Bright, Burst, and Butterfly" Lucia replied stubbornly.

"I had wanted to wait until you were much older to tell you this, but I guess now's as good a time as any. You see, Lucia-chan, Blade…Luke, has saved your life once before" Mama told us.

"He has?" I asked of her in surprise as I settled down into the o-furo.

Removing her own clothes and joining us, she then told us, "You see, back when I was pregnant with all three of you, your Dai-ojisan wasn't so receptive to the idea of me being pregnant with Mermaids. He was so against it that he, like one of the isha-tachi who examined me, wanted me to terminate your lives by having an abortion. I then told him that I didn't want him as a member of my family and stormed off. Some months later, after I had just given birth to the three of you, he thought he could come to the hospital to take you away from me, but Blade was in the room and cuddling you to his chest, Lucia-chan. Instead of trying to take you from me, Dai decided to apologize to me for his rash actions. I forgave him, but I refused to trust him and so Blade gave me my green miniature buster sword to protect you all with should Dai try anything."

"Dai-ojisan actually hated us?" Rina asked of Mama in surprise.

"He didn't even know us and he already hated us" I said with tears in my eyes.

"He hated me, too" Mama added sadly.

"But why does he wear black? I mean, everything evil is black! The energy surrounding that monster that tried to kill me was black, bad guys in anime-tachi wear black, even the scary nighttime is black!" Lucia posed to us while rubbing tears from her own eyes; she was the only one of us who slept with a nightlight.

"Akihiro is black" Rina posed to her.

"Not entirely and not even mama or daddy wear black" Lucia argued in return.

"You're right, Lucia-chan; there are a lot of bad things represented by the color black, but that doesn't mean black is all bad. Red is another color that tends to be used to represent evil things, too, and you like the color red" Mama told her and Lucia had to stop and think about it for a moment.

"Those demons wore red" Rina added so as to further emphasize nani Mama was telling her.

"As does Blossom-sama which only serves to prove that they're both bad people" Lucia argued further.

"If Blossom is so bad, then why did she let Rina-chan nurse off of her when I was busy nursing you, Lucia-chan?" Mama asked of her in minor annoyance.

"I nursed from her?" Rina asked in surprise.

"Hai, you weren't even twenty-four hours old, but still, you were hungry and groping her so she let you hook up. You even fed from her rather hungrily" Mama told Rina who was blushing rather brightly.

"I-I'm sure it wasn't as good as you, Mama" Rina told her.

"I don't know, you did seem to have an awful hard time of letting go; she had to wait until you fell asleep" Mama replied with a chuckle.

"But I'm afraid we're getting off topic here. Lucia-chan, you like red roses, red apples, and even red fish, don't you?" Mama then asked of Lucia.

"Hai, I do; maybe red isn't all bad, but you still can't tell me that black is a good color" Lucia replied as she realized nani Mama was trying to tell her though still being rather stubborn.

"If memory serves correctly, red, black, and even white can represent various stages of anger; does that mean you're going to start to dislike Suzuko-chan, too?" Rina argued back.

"Iie, white represents more good things than bad" Lucia replied in her own defense.

"So does black: it's a sporty color and it stands for mystery and determination. And I happen to know that you like pilot whales" Mama told her with a bit more patience.

"You also like to read and the last time I checked, books were written with black ink" I noted to her.

"Daijobu, I'll try to be a bit more accepting of him" Lucia said as she finally gave in a little.

Climbing out of the water, we then dried off before Mama sent us to bed.

"I wonder why that monster was singling out Lucia for that" I then posed to Rina as we lay awake in bed; Lucia was already sound asleep and facing her nightlight.

"I don't know, maybe it was being operated by Kanojo. I mean, Lucia did originally take away that tablet from her" Rina offered with a yawn.

"I'm almost scared of going to school in the morning" I then told her.

"How do you think the rest of us feel? Only problem is you can't call in and say 'I can't send my kids to school since I don't know whether or not their sensei or kouchou are going to become possessed and attack them again'. Iie one would ever believe it" Rina told me in a miffed tone of voice.

"Good point. Oyasumi, Rina-chan" I replied before turning over to get some sleep.

"Oyasumi, Kaori-chan" she replied in return as we were soon drifting off to sleep.

Kare's POV

I was lounging on the couch and waiting to hear from the Master as to whether or not we had been successful when Kanojo announced, "Incoming."

The shadows soon slipped in under the door of the mayor's office and flowed over to where Master Kaosu stood waiting and joined with him.

"At least it wasn't entirely a failure, we were able to strike fear into the children which my shadow had feasted upon" Kaosu said as he gained a bit of strength from the energies that the shadow had absorbed.

"So nani is our next plan of action?" I asked of him.

"Get some rest, we will attack once again come the morning" Kaosu instructed us and so we all decided to do as he had advised us.

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><p><strong>Carly: Wow, that was a crazy chapter!<strong>

**TCW: Indeed. And yet again we got to see the children in their PPZ forms.**

**Carly: True, so nani is in store for the next chapter?**

**Next time…**

**Miyako: I've heard of wardrobe malfunctions, but this is just nuts!**

**Takaaki: It's the attack of the invisible man, only this time he's wearing clothes.**

**TCW: All this and much more still to come.**

**Momoko and Carly: Just be sure to leave us some really nice reviews while you wait!**

***Footnote: For those who don't remember, refer back to Chapter 65: 'Meet the Children' and Chapter 67: 'New Identities' where Kaoru's, Momoko's, and Miyako's heroine names changed.**

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><p><strong>Next, to address a couple of questions left by anonymous reviewers:<br>**

**I'm a terrible artist which is why I don't try to create any drawings of the original characters used in this story.  
><strong>

**If any Nihon-go (Japanese) words are used and their meanings not provided on my profile page, onegai (please) inform me so that I can add them in as quickly as possible so that you may understand nani (what) is being said better. Arigato (Thank you) - The Cat Whispurrer  
><strong>


	72. Fashion Disaster

**Arigato for the reviews, friends! And for this next chapter, we will be joining Miyako and friends as they must contend with a monster that is out to create a…**

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><p><strong>Fashion Disaster<strong>

"Perhaps we're going at this from a wrong angle" Kare suggested the following morning while we were discussing the previous day's failure.

"It wasn't a complete failure; we did learn a lot about those Powerpuff brats and how vulnerable they really are" I told him firmly.

"Enough, you two; I have a new plan" Kaosu announced to us as he held up a newspaper which advertised a clothes designer's show which was to be held locally.

"You want us to kidnap a clothes designer and force her into making stylish clothes for you?" Kare inquired and even I felt like slapping him for such a stupid remark.

"Of course not, the master wants us to destroy the designer because she's one of those pathetic Powerpuff Girls!" I shouted back at him in annoyance.

"Precisely; with the fall of the one, I can feed off of not only her blood, but from her friends' misery" the Master replied with an evil grin.

Momoko's POV

It was an uncomfortably hot afternoon and to make matters worse, the air conditioning unit in the house was on the fritz. It was because of this that I was letting the girls play up in their room in the buff with their ceiling fan on high and even I had taken to roaming around the house in a two-piece bikini. And because of all this, Miyako was now standing on my doorstep, tapping her foot, with an incredulous look on her face while I sent the girls back up to their room to play; they had come down to see who was at the door.

"If I knew you were going to be running a nudist colony in my childhood home, I'd have reconsidered letting you buy the place" she told me with a scowl on her face.

"Gomen nasai, Miyako-chan, but the air conditioning is broken" I told her with a sigh.

"Have you called the repairman yet?" she then asked as her look softened to that of understanding.

"Hai, but they can't send anyone out to even look at it for at least a week" I replied while leading her to the kitchen for a glass of iced tea.

"I must admit that I'm surprised Luke hasn't installed a swimming pool for your girls to enjoy" she then noted as I set the glasses upon the table.

"We've been talking about it, but the only place that's available for such a thing is right under a bunch of trees. I've suggested building a roof over it and even screening it in to keep leaves and bugs out, but it's all so expensive and the screens would block our girls from view so that if anything unforeseen should occur, we wouldn't be able to see and thus get out to them in time" I explained to her.

"Perhaps letting them enjoy some cold water in the o-furo would suffice" she suggested.

"I've considered that, but it's really not big enough for the three of them to play in" I told her. Sure we could all fit inside of it as a family, but that was for relaxing and soaking; the girls wanted to play and swim. "I think I'll discuss it some more with Luke this evening. There's got to be a way to work it out."

"Good luck. Meanwhile, are you coming to the fashion show I'm hosting tomorrow?" Miyako then inquired of me, changing the subject.

"You bet I am; though to be completely honest, lately it's been hard to keep clothes on Suzuko. Just the other day I got a call from the girls' school kangofu-sensei complaining that she was wearing shoes but iie socks while in gym class; that's not exactly a healthy practice. And every day, after school, she comes home and takes everything off. At bedtime, whenever Luke and I are tucking the girls in for the night, she's stark naked. I mean, I am grateful that she realizes that there are some points where clothes are a complete necessity, but it's the downtimes that she's to be found in the buff. I'm just glad she has at least some sense of modesty whenever we have company" I then noted to Miyako with a sigh of exasperation until she started giggling.

"It's funny you should say that, my Tomohiro is the same way, well, almost; he at least keeps his underpants on" Miyako told me while still giggling.

"At least you can laugh about it" I grumbled to her.

"Only when I'm not at home to put up with it personally; don't worry, it's just a phase that they'll grow out of as they get a bit older" Miyako then told me and I nodded my head in agreement.

She then rose up and began to head for the door with me following her as she said, "Well, I've got to be getting back to the shop to make sure my models are ready for tomorrow's showing. I'll look forward to seeing you there."

"Daijobu, but don't be a stranger and stop in a little more often" I told her as we shared a hug.

"I'll remember that" she said with a wave as she dashed out the gate to get back into her van and soon drove off.

That was when I heard the squabbling upstairs and so dashed up the stairs to the girls' playroom and slid the door open to see Akahana sitting off in a corner of the room crying while Anzu and Suzuko were wrestling together.

"That's enough, you two!" I shouted over the noise and they both turned to look up in surprise. Looking at the mess their playroom was in, I told them, "Clean up this room and get washed up; your daddy will be home soon. And if I hear anymore fighting, there are going to be some very sore o-shiri-tachi sitting at the table for dinner."

I then left to return to the daidokoro to fix dinner while listening to the hastened footfalls of the girls cleaning up their playroom. It was one area where Luke and I differed greatly: he could just enter the room and tap his foot at them and they would immediately break up any fights and start cleaning up on their own without direction while I always had to raise my voice and threaten to spank them before they would act. However, I was the only one who ever carried through with my threat, but then I attributed to it that was because Luke was their father while I was their mother. As I said, they did have a sense of modesty in some regards. But then I think it even bothered Luke as they were little girls and he probably felt like he was being 'inappropriate' if he should strike them.

Soon the girls came downstairs wearing their yukata-tachi while still barefoot and sat down at the table while anticipating their father's return. As soon as we heard the unmistakable sound of his motorcycle, the girls jumped up and ran to the front door where they lined up in preparation of greeting their daddy home. As soon as he had stepped through the door and closed it, he turned to them and the girls politely bowed to him.

"Yukata-tachi in this weather; I figure you girls would be running around in the buff right now" Luke said as he picked up, hugged, and kissed each of the girls in turn before coming to me as the girls dashed off to return to the daidokoro.

"I did have them running around in the buff earlier, but you know how they feel about such things when you're home" I replied as he shared a passionate kiss together.

"That's true, though personally, I'd rather see you running around the house in your birthday suit" Luke told me and we were both blushing at the thought.

"Maybe we can do that in the onsen after the girls are sent to bed" I offered as we shared another kiss.

"That sounds good to me" Luke replied with a grin and we soon followed after the girls into the daidokoro.

During dinner, I told Luke, "Miyako's fashion show is tomorrow; are you and the other boys still acting as security for the event?"

"It's almost become a tradition, but at the same time, it is an honor to be requested for such an event; really helps our P.R. ratings" Luke replied.

"Clothes are highly over-rated" I heard Suzuko grumble from across the table while scratching an itch.

"You don't seem to mind them when daddy's home" noted Akahana; she was our logical one and peacekeeper…for the most part. When her shimai-tachi got to bickering and squabbling and she couldn't control them, she'd sit off in a corner and cry until either me or her father came up to put a stop to the fighting.

"Well, that's different. And besides, I only feel it to be appropriate around him when bathing or going to bed" Suzuko replied while blushing.

"I don't mind if daddy sees me, I just don't like feeling like I'm the one who's different" noted Anzu as she would sometimes snuggle up with her father while sharing the o-furo.

Later on, after cleaning up, bathing, and putting the girls to bed for the night, Luke and I returned to our room where I decided to take up the conversation in regards to a swimming pool, "So have you given much further thought as to a swimming pool for the girls to cool off in?"

"I have, especially since it's been so hot lately" he told me while pulling out his small laptop computer. "Here's what I have in mind, but I don't know if we have the room for it until I can get outside and measure the property."

He then showed me a pool that had a natural appearance like a pond and that would be could be enclosed during certain parts of the year.

"It sure looks pretty" I noted to Luke in hopes of encouraging him.

"Hai, it would also have a natural filtration system so that we won't need chlorine or anything damaging to the environment. It'll be deep enough for swimming, but not diving and will have the water fed back into it via a decorative waterfall" Luke further explained while showing me the different viewing angles.

"And now here's the ultimate question: If we have the room for it, can we afford it?" I then posed with a sigh; I knew how much it meant to the girls to have their own swimming pool, but I also knew that we had to remain practical in regards to expense.

"Well, that's something I wanted to talk to you about" he said as he pulled me into his lap after shutting down his computer and setting it onto the nightstand. "I know you've wanted to take a vacation, but with those three pests hanging around, I don't really foresee that happening any time soon. So nani do you say to turning our vacation fund into a swimming pool fund?"

"That sounds good, but that's an awful thing to refer to our babies as" I noted with a scowl.

"When I said 'three pests' I wasn't referring to our girls, Momoko; I meant Kare, Kanojo, and Kaosu" Luke told me.

"Oh, okay then" I replied feeling much more relieved.

Luke then reached up and turned off the light and we soon snuggled down together with only our top sheet to cover us as we drifted off to sleep in each other's arms.

Kare's POV

Slipping over to the designer clothing store in the middle of the night, I released the shadow under the door to enter the store so as to prepare for its mission.

'The Master has gone slightly hentai for this one' I thought to myself while shaking my head in disbelief before returning to City Hall.

Miyako's POV

Takaaki had just arrived with the van as he had to drop our boys off at their sofubo's house and was now unloading the rolling racks which bore the new designs I was showing in preparation for the upcoming summer.

As soon as we had them inside and in the dressing room, I unveiled them to my models who were all eyeing them amorously.

"Ooh, Miyako-sama, you've simply outdone yourself with your summer design!" exclaimed one girl excitedly.

"Remind me to stop in and buy up a whole ensemble of these!" exclaimed another girl.

"I know you like them, but if you don't put them on, we can't hold a show and then this will be all for naught" I told them with patience and they quickly began getting dressed much to my pleasure.

I then began going over each of them as they stepped out of their dressing stalls and made nani little adjustments that were required to make them fit the wearer better.

Takaaki soon entered the dressing area while covering his eyes with one hand until I told him, "All's clear, Taka-chan; the girls are dressed and ready to go."

"Great, I'll let the announcer know" Takaaki replied after giving me a nice, yet brief kiss on the lips before turning and heading back towards the front.

"It must be nice to have such a wonderful guy as you husband, Miyako-sama" commented one of the girls with a smile.

"It is; it truly is" I replied with a smile and a blush in my cheeks.

"I heard that the Powerpuff Boys Z are going to be acting as your security again this year. I wonder if any of them are single" noted another girl.

"Gomen to have to tell you this, but they're all happily married" I told her gently and then I heard the music start up. "Take your places girls."

Remaining in the back I watched as the girls walked out onto the runway while many gasps of pleasure could be heard emanating from the crowd of spectators. However, as I turned around to get ready for their return, I heard the girls all scream out in horror.

Blade's POV

Standing on the front line and watching for any signs of trouble, I heard the girls up above us scream out in horror and turned around to see them clutching their clothes around them while their clothes seemed to be coming to life.

"I thought this was a fashion show, not a peep show" I heard Butch say from beside me.

"Look closer, Butch; their clothes have a dark aura surrounding them" Boomer said in reproach.

"Get to the back and take those things off, NOW!" I shouted to the girls and they immediately turned and began running towards the back.

"I'm not following after them" Brain told me with a hint of red in his cheeks.

Miyako's POV

I watched in disbelief as the girls returned and began pulling their outer clothes off and threw them into a pile before hiding behind me. I always desired for my designs to have a life of their own, but nani I was seeing right now was just ridiculous.

The clothes began to twist, fold, and tie themselves together until they formed a veritable monster and were soon being joined by many of my other designs which were to be shown in the second half. The creature then dashed out onto the runway and began to release many dark spores into the air which soon landed upon the spectators and began to try and pull off of their wearers.

Baron's POV

"At least they only affect the people's outerwear" I commented to Blade.

"These spores are also being repelled off of our own clothes" Boomer added.

"Brain, do you have a Z-Particle Ray in your array of weaponry?" Blade asked.

"Hai, and I follow your gist" Brain replied as he tapped a button on his wrist keyboard and a Z-Particle Ray gun soon rose up out of his backpack and began firing at many of the spectators as spores were landing upon them.

"Miyako's not going to be happy with us when this is over" I then told Blade as I summoned my giant shuriken while he unsheathed his buster sword.

"Let's see if we can use energy attacks on the beast without destroying your lovely wife's designs" Blade offered and we all knew just exactly nani it was he was requesting of us: using kid-gloves on a monster that was Hell-bent on destroying us.

"Balloon Catcher" we then heard a familiar voice say as a giant bubbles ensnared the monster.

We all turned to see Bubbles step out with an angry look on her face.

"Now nani are we supposed to do?" asked Bash as he knew dealing with Bubbles when she was angry was not an easy task for anybody.

"Bash-kun, your paddle onegai" Bubbles requested and he handed it over to her without argument. "Blade, Baron, onegai hold the monster's wrists."

"Uh, taisetsu-na, I don't think spanking the monster is quite going to work" I whispered into Bubbles ear.

"It has disrupted my show, mangled my designs, terrified my customers, and rendered not only my models but also many of my guests indecent and now it is going to be severely disciplined" Bubbles replied her expression going from angry to fiercely mad.

"Z-Particle Cannon" called out Brain as he fired a large beam of energy into the beast's stomach so that it roared out in pain as it dropped to its knees.

"Arigato, Brain-kun" Bubbles expressed to him before approaching the monster and began swatting it with Bash's paddle. "You…will not…ruin…another show…or my designs…again!"

The dark shadow that inhabited the clothes rose out of them while holding onto its posterior before dissipating into the air.

"Here you go, Bash, and arigato for letting me borrow it" Bubbles expressed as she returned his paddle to him.

"Doitashimashite, though I never imagined using it in such a manner before" Bash replied as he examined his weapon in surprise.

"Remind me not to get on her bad side" Brain whispered to his itoko just before Bubbles approached him to tousle his hair.

"Arigato for holding that monster down and weakening it enough for me to discipline the monster" Bubbles then told him before walking over to the pile of clothes and began the long, but tedious process of untying and unknotting much of the clothes while wiping tears from her eyes.

"Come on, guys; let's help her" Blade suggested and we all began to take up sections of the monster's former body and began taking the knots and tangles out of the clothing.

As each piece of clothing was freed, it was taken to be pressed in the back so as to get the wrinkles out. It took us the majority of the day and Miyako was understandably upset by not being able to show the designs off. However, as Blade and the others were packing up the van while I carried Miyako, quietly sobbing into my shoulder, we were soon approached by many of our guests who were still eagerly looking forward to placing their orders.

"Nani, do you really mean it?" Miyako asked of them when so many were requesting orders for the latest designs.

"Are you kidding; anyone not wearing a Gotokuji summer dress is a social outcast" spoke up one woman of high standing in the upper echelons of society, seconded only to Shirogane Himeko and her mother, both of whom had already sent in fax orders for the summer series.

"Not to mention the fact that with as hot as it's been lately, the light, airy material feels much, much cooler while the colors and designs themselves just pop out at you" spoke another girl dreamily.

"Hai, and nani other designs are there that one can say they were so good a monster decided to possess them to wear for itself" commented a third young woman and we all burst out laughing.

"I just hope Kaosu takes this defeat well, especially when he finds out that his shadow demon was spanked" noted Brain rather simplistically; he's been striving to keep his words simple instead of using words too big for the casual observer to understand.

Just then Blade's buckle/phone rang and he turned around to answer it quietly as Momoko and their girls approached.

"Great, I'll see you then" Blade commented to whoever was on the other end of the line before hanging up.

"Good news I hope" Momoko said to him.

"Hai, very good news" Blade replied with a wink that went unnoticed to their little girls.

"Nani did you think of my latest designs?" Miyako inquired of the three small girls.

"Very colorful and pretty" replied Akahana with a smile.

"They looked nice, though a bit feminine for my taste" added Anzu as she was becoming more and more of a tomboy.

Suzuko, however, remained quiet and noncommittal.

Miyako just nodded her head to the small girl in understanding of the girl's reserved comment; as the vernacular states: if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all and that's exactly nani Suzuko was doing.

"Suzuko, don't you have anything to say?" Momoko asked of her.

"Akahana already said it all, so nani more is there to say; they were colorful and pretty…for nani little we saw of them" Suzuko responded in honesty.

"And you thought they were highly overrated; just say it Suzuko-chan" Anzu told her only to receive a glare from her shimai.

"Don't start, Anzu-chan" Blade said in a gentle, but firm reprimand.

"Hai, Daddy" Anzu replied quietly.

"Tell me I didn't hear this correctly, but did that one girl just say that she finds these glorious designs to be overrated?" asked the first woman in disbelief.

"Iie, she just finds clothing in general to be overrated; she's going through 'that' phase" Miyako replied in Suzuko's defense.

"Oh, so that's nani is going on; I understand, my own daughter went through that phase when she was little" the woman then said with a sigh of relief.

"Well, it's getting late and the girls are overdue for their naps" Momoko then commented and Blade nodded his head in agreement before picking up Anzu who was already falling asleep while standing. Suzuko was yawning widely and little Akahana was already out cold while leaning against her mama.

Miyako then gave Momoko a hug sayonara and together, Momoko and Blade carried their girls to their car to put them in the backseat before driving off for home.

Momoko's POV

Upon returning home, getting our girls undressed down to their underwear, and putting them to bed, Luke and I went out back to meet up with the contractor that he had been speaking with earlier. The contractor and a couple of his companions were mapping out the area with orange spray paint when we approached them.

"Ah, you two are a few minutes later than I had anticipated" the contractor informed us though still maintaining a smile.

"Gomen, but we had to put our little ones down for their naps" I apologized with a humble bow.

Pulling out an artist's rendition of the finished product he showed it to us while inquiring, "Iie worries; I've a couple of kids of my own. So anyway this is nani we're thinking of your pool to look like. Only question now is do you want steps to walk down or a pool ladder and would you also like an underwater seating arrangement along the perimeter?"

"I think steps to walk down and the seating arrangement sound like a nice idea" I commented and Luke nodded his head in agreement.

"Will a natural filtration system still be applicable?" Luke asked of the contractor.

"Certainly, we've even done much, much larger pools that employ a natural filtration system as the one you're planning on using. Also, with the current layout you can set an arched bridge over the pool so as to allow you access from your new patio to your onsen" the gentleman informed us.

"I just have one small question: nani are these areas over here for?" I inquired as I noticed a few areas along the perimeter being marked off differently.

"These are for your marsh plants which will also help with a bit of extra filtering and this larger area will be for the water lilies which will not only provide further filtering, but will also provide you with some lovely flowers to enjoy" one of the aids informed me as I realized that he was a water gardener.

"Those won't attract any unwanted wildlife will it?" I then asked concerned for my girls' health and safety.

"Not as long as you close the doors each night" the gardener replied.

"The waterfall will be at this end so it shouldn't affect the plants and the sun lounge is over here so that even in the winter time you can bring your little ones out here for some sunlight" the contractor said as he continued showing us the layout of the new pool.

"Speaking of winter, do we have to do anything to the pool so as to prepare it for the winter season?" I then asked out of curiosity; Luke was letting me ask all the questions to show my standing in our family.

"Iie more than you should need to for your koi pond; though if you should wish, we could provide a heating system for your pool in the event you or your girls should wish to go swimming in the winter time" the water gardener answered on behalf of the contractor.

"That reminds me, will the plumbing of the onsen interfere with the pool?" Luke then asked; a question that I hadn't thought of.

"Iie, we've already done scanned the area for electrical and plumbing lines and have thus made the necessary adjustments in the layout; we'll miss those by a good foot" the contractor replied.

"How big will the equipment be that's going to doing all of this; I just finished getting my flower gardens put in and I'd hate to see them ruined" I then commented, though I did feel a little embarrassed as I was sounding a bit selfishly.

The contractor then walked over to where my flower beds were and measured the space between them and the koi pond before replying, "There'll be a good foot clearance between your pond and flowers with our machinery passing through the area; we'll just be using little bob-cats to excavate the area and when it comes time for pouring the concrete, we can snake a track in for the cement to flow down."

"Now comes the big question: How long will this take and when can you start?" I asked of the men feeling hopeful.

"I figure about a week for the duration and say, tomorrow to start…unless that's too soon for you" the contractor replied.

"Tomorrow it is then" I told him once Luke nodded his head in agreement to me.

Later on, at dinner, Akahana asked of us, "Who painted those strange marks on the ground out back?"

"A contractor who's going to be building a special add-on to the backyard" Luke told her vaguely.

"I guess that means we won't be playing out back for a while then" noted Anzu.

"Iie, not until they're finished, but when you girls are home, I can take you to the park to play if you like" I offered them.

"May we know nani it is that's being built?" Suzuko questioned hopefully.

"Another pond" Luke replied simply and I smiled to him.

"That's nani I thought it was" Suzuko said while fidgeting with her yukata.

"Go take your baths when you finish eating" I then instructed them and they were soon heading off to take their baths, though Suzuko didn't wait to get to the o-furo to take off her yukata.

"Nani are going to do with that child?" I then asked of Luke with a sigh as we began clearing the table.

"Give her all the patience we can offer. Besides, once the 'pond' is finished, I bet she won't be the only one doing a lot of skinny-dipping in it" Luke replied as he wrapped his hands around my waist.

"Let's use the onsen tonight" I told him and he nodded his head in agreement.

Once the cleanup was done and we had tucked our girls into bed for the night, Luke and I slipped out the backdoor to spend some romantic time in the onsen for the last time until after the project was completed.

Kare's POV

That night, the shadow returned to rejoin with the Master, though there was something not quite right about it.

"Ah, my faithful shadow, nani treasures do you bring me?" inquired Kaosu as he held out his hand so as to allow the shadow to meld back into him.

"Uh, I don't…" Kanojo started to say but I just shushed her.

"Iie blood, but much fear and…a strange new sensation" Kaosu noted as he was allowing the shadow to fully rejoin him.

"Um, you may…" Kanojo started to say once again but again I shushed her.

"Wait, something's not right…ITE!" the Master screamed out as he grabbed a hold of his posterior in pain while Kanojo and I shot out of the room to enjoy a really good belly-laugh at the Master's expense.

"That tears it, the next time I'm not being so nice!" shouted Kaosu as we returned to the mayor's office.

Kanojo and I just turned to one another and shrugged our shoulders before taking up our resting places to prepare for the next day.

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><p><strong>Carly: Serves him right for almost ruining Miyako's fashion show.<strong>

**TCW: True.**

**Carly: So nani is in store for the next chapter?**

**Next time…**

**Kaoru: I thought those things were extinct!**

**Momoko: A shadow is attacking the Mermaids at the aquarium!**

**Lucia: He really does care about me.**

**TCW: All this and more still to come!**

**Carly & Momoko: Just be sure to favor and leave us some nice reviews while you wait.**


	73. Beast from the Deep

**Arigato for the great reviews, friends. In this next chapter, our friends must contend with a…**

* * *

><p><strong>Beast from the Deep<strong>

To say Kaosu was in a really grumpy mood the following morning would have been an understatement as we watched him pacing and grumbling to himself.

"Perhaps we should take a different approach" I offered hesitantly in hope of appeasing the Master's anger.

"I want _blood_!" Kaosu roared back in reply so that I hid under my desk to avoid getting struck by him.

"I don't suppose you have a plan on how to attain bloodshed" Kare asked while resting on the couch.

"Take care of your choice of words, Kare; I created you and I can destroy you just as easily" Kaosu growled.

To my surprise, Kare just smiled back before tossing another newspaper onto my desk, the headline reading: Prehistoric Beast from the Deep Makes Appearance at Local Aquarium.

Picking it up I then read the article aloud to Kaosu, "A life-sized model of prehistoric shark, Megalodon, is to be set up on display at the local aquarium alongside of the actual fossilized jaws of this ancient beast. The Megalodon, an ancient relative to the modern great white shark, is believed to have fed on small cetaceans such as grey whales and dolphins and was believed to grow larger than the well-known whale shark. When speaking with one of the curators of the aquarium, Udetsuyoi Kaoru was quoted to say, 'If the jaws and the model are this intimidating, then I sure would have hated meeting such monster in real life; thankfully, these beasts are extinct.' This reporter, having been granted a glimpse at the model while still on the delivery truck, totally agrees."

"And this beast was the prehistoric ancestor of today's great white shark" Kare reminded him so as to lead Kaosu in the direction of his train of thought.

"Hai, but there's iie way you will be able to find one, Kare" I told him as the sea was my area of specialty.

"Nor can we chance losing our control over your hostess's body" Kare reminded me.

"Kanojo, give Kare some of your water powers so as to allow him to find and deliver one of my shadows to one of these sharks" Kaosu instructed me.

"Very well" I spoke to Kaosu, though I hated the idea of sharing any of my powers with Kare.

Sending my powers over to Kare he absorbed them before collecting the Master's shadow and soon left to find a great white shark to attack and thus terrorize many innocent people.

Kaoru's POV

I was watching Rikiya as he was supervising the placement of the new model and keeping a respectable distance with Lucia and Kaori beside me while Rina was standing in front of me; she was the bravest of the trio.

"Was that monster really real once?" Rina asked of me.

"Hai, but due to climate changes both above and below the water, they were rendered extinct" I told her.

"Nani does 'ex-stink' mean, Mama?" Kaori asked, mispronouncing the word.

"It's 'extinct" I told her while carefully pronouncing the word for her. "It means that the species iie longer exists. Some species just died off much like the dinosaurs, while many others, sadly, were hunted by man until the very last one was killed. In fact, that's why we need to protect so many of our sea creatures; if we keep hunting them with little to iie regard of the size of the species' population, we could render all of them extinct."

"Is that why you hate those whaling fleets?" Rina asked of me in return.

"Hai, that's exactly why I don't like them. They say they're hunting them for research, but research is one or two, not 30, and with modern technology now being portable, we shouldn't have to kill them for the sake of research" I answered with a sigh; I dared not to tell them of the hidden horrors of the practice.

As far as I was concerned, there were too many cows, pigs, and sheep, we should be eating even more of them and less harvesting from the sea for a couple of decades. I mean, sure, sea weed and kelp were serious parts of our diets, but we needed to back off of harvesting the animals.

"It looks creepy and scary to me" noted Lucia to me while half-hiding behind me and scowling at the model.

"I know how you feel, Lucia-chan. I may not be galeophobic anymore, but there are still some species of sharks that give me the creeps and that thing is one of them. But like I said, they don't exist anymore and this is only a fiberglass model of the beast and even then, because iie one has ever seen one before, we can only assume that this is nani they may have looked like" I told her as I knelt down to give her a hug.

"Can we go play with Akihiro?" Kaori asked.

"Sure, let me inform your father of where we'll be and then we'll go swimming with Akihiro" I replied as I stood up and trotted over to Rikiya to let him know.

"A little further to the right…there!" Rikiya called out to lift operator who was setting the shark model up on a display stand.

"Hey, Rikiya, the girls and I are going to go swimming with Akihiro" I told him once he turned to look at me.

"I guess you and the girls don't exactly like looking at this thing, eh?" Rikiya inquired jokingly.

"Just me and Lucia, the other two aren't phased in the least by this thing" I replied with a smile.

"Daijobu, I'll catch up with you ladies in a little while" Rikiya said and we shared a quick kiss before I turned to dash off towards the girls.

"Come on, girls; let's go" I told them and we all headed over to Akihiro's tank.

Upon arrival, I helped the girls to strip off their clothes before letting them dive into the water, a practice that I wouldn't encourage them to continue as they got older for the sake of dignity. I sat on the edge of the pool, letting my feet dangle in the water, when I soon felt a presence beside me and turned to see Aqua Regina's image beside me.

"Something concerns you" she said simply and I turned to release a sigh.

"I know it's a part of life, but I dread the day when we lose Akihiro" I confessed while wiping a couple of tears from my eyes.

"Akihiro has been made the new guardian to the Mermaid Kingdom of the North Pacific and thus had been rendered semi-immortal" Regina informed me and I turned to look at her in confusion.

"Nani do you by 'semi-immortal'?" I asked of her.

"He will of course die eventually, but as the Phoenix of lore, he will be literally reborn to continue protecting the Princess of his Kingdom" Regina told me and in a way, I did feel a little better.

"It's still going to hurt when it occurs for the first time" I then told her.

"It always does, but it's when he is reborn that tears of sadness are turned to tears of joy" Regina told me with a smile before disappearing and I turned to look back at the pool to see four of the five faces I loved the most staring back at me in concern.

Soon Rikiya joined us and we both shared another kiss before continuing to watch the girls playing with Akihiro and I told him of my conversation with Regina.

"It hurts whenever we lose a member of our aquatic family, but at least with Akihiro, we can also find hope of having him back. Which reminds me, two of the new lemon shark pups died earlier today" he replied to me.

"Do we know the cause?" I asked of him feeling a bit of concern for the rest of the litter.

"I'm having the staff juui examining them right now, but we don't think they would have made it anyways; they were the two small ones" he informed me and I nodded my head in understanding.

Just then we received a summons over his walkie-talkie, "Rikiya and Kaoru, onegai report to the observation center for a Code: Blue; repeat, Rikiya and Kaoru, onegai report to the observation center for a Code: Blue."

"I wonder nani that's all about" I said as I pulled my feet out of the water and dried them off quickly before dashing off with Rikiya to see nani the urgency was all about; leaving our girls under Akihiro's watchful eye.

We arrived and Rikiya asked as we entered the observation center's control station, "Nani is the urgency?"

"We keep detecting a rather large anomaly in the water off to starboard, but it isn't close enough to make a visual identification" responded one of the technicians.

"Something that big would have to be either a whale or a submersible" I noted to Rikiya as I examined the size of the object.

"If it is a submersible, then it would have to be a privately owned one and even then is still too close to the aquarium to be truly be safe" he replied back.

"Hold it, it's beginning to move closer; we should be able to have visual contact any second now" the tech told us and both Rikiya and I jumped towards one of the portholes to take a look.

When I saw the creature my blood went cold and I immediately grabbed for my compact to call Luke.

Luke's POV

Momoko and I were at the park with our girls and pushing them on the swings when my buckle/phone began to signal me, so I stepped away to answer it.

"Kaoru-chan, is everything alright; you look as though you've just seen a ghost" I told her.

"You aren't far from wrong, Oniichan" she replied before showing turning her compact to look out the porthole.

"I'm on my way" I told her when I saw the entity.

"Gomen to cut my playtime short, but I'm needed at the aquarium" I told Momoko and the girls and they quickly understood my meaning.

"Do you need any help?" Suzuko asked of me eagerly.

"Iie, I'd feel better if you all would remain here" I told her and soon transformed into Solar Blade. Giving each of the girls and Momoko a kiss, I then flew off while calling up Takaaki to help out.

"But I thought those things were extinct" Baron commented as we were coming within range of the aquarium.

"I did too and from the look in Kaoru's and Rikiya's eyes, they also thought they were" I replied as we touched down and entered the aquarium.

We were heading for the observation center when a crowd of people began to rush past us in a panic and so we turned and nodded to each other that we needed to head in the direction from which these people were coming.

"I don't think you gentlemen want to be going that way; a giant shark just ate three dolphins" an elderly woman told us as we stopped to help her in getting out of the observation center.

"Blade, Kaoru's going to need you soonest; I'll catch up in a minute or two" Baron told me and I nodded my head in agreement before taking off to head deeper into the observation center. "Actually, we're the ones who were called upon to handle the monster, Obaasan" Baron then told the woman as he passed her off to a security officer who took over assisting her.

I entered the observation center to see Kaoru, her fists clenched at her sides, while crying into Rikiya's chest.

"Gomen nasai, we got here as quickly as we could" I told them just as Baron approached from behind.

"I'm afraid we have bigger issues; that monster just turned towards the water park" a technician told us and we all look at her in disbelief.

"Nani is the quickest way to get there?" Baron inquired of the young girl.

"That way" she said as she indicated another pathway and all four of us took off running down it while she picked up the phone and began calling the park to have them shut down the rides and bring all guests to shore.

"This is preposterous; cutting rides short like this" complained a guest as we arrived.

"Better a short ride than to wind up shark food" Baron commented and the woman turned to look at us in surprise.

"You want to refrain from mentioning the 'S' word to any further guests; we're trying _not_ to cause a panic here" Kaoru growled at him with an anime-vein popping out of her forehead.

Just then a loud scream of, "SHARK" rose up from a crowd of people who were disembarking from one of the rides as the giant shark stuck its head up out of the water with its mouth agape.

"I didn't say it this time; they did" Baron said in his own defense.

"Something's off about that thing; come on, Baron, it's time we went Megalodon hunting" I told Baron who just looked at me as though I had completely lost my mind.

"Have you gone completely nekkyo? That thing is going to be hunting _us_ instead of us hunting _it_" Baron asked with fear showing in his face.

"Kaoru-san, we've got a major problem!" shouted another technician as she ran up to us frantically.

"Nani; nani is wrong?" Kaoru asked of her as the girl dropped to her knees trying to catch her breath.

"Akihiro's access port to the outside water is open" she told me with tears in her eyes.

"MY BABIES ARE OUT IN THE WATER WITH THAT THING?" Kaoru asked in terror and was soon racing ahead of us to jump into the water.

"Kuso! She may do something rash if we don't follow her!" Rikiya swore and we were soon following after her and dove into the water.

Lucia's POV

My shimai-tachi and I were swimming around and playing amongst the reef with Akihiro nearby watching over us when I saw the thing swim pass and behind Kaori.

"Rina-chan, Megalodons are extinct, right?" I asked while watching the creature.

"Hai, why would you ask such a silly question anyways? Are you still bothered by the site of that model?" she asked in return.

"Iie, but I just saw something that looked like a great white but the size of Goliath swim pass Kaori a second ago" I replied while naming the giant whale shark that lived in the aquarium.

"Silly, that's just not possible" Kaori told me until we heard a loud roar from overhead.

Glancing up and screaming out in terror, we took off swimming away from it as it crashed into the reef and merely jarring loose some coral but didn't faze the shark in the least.

"I thought you told me they were extinct!" I yelled while still swimming away from the monster in a panic.

"That's nani Mama told us" Rina said in her own defense.

"Scatter!" shouted Kaori and we separated to avoid getting chomped on by the shark.

Akihiro, now in his heroic form, swam down and plowed into the side of the Megalodon only for it to turn and try to attack him in return. However, since I was now watching in concern of Akihiro's safety, I failed to notice the reef until I ran into it and scraped my arm so that I began bleeding.

"That's not good" Rina said as the shark turned away from Akihiro and was now charging towards us again.

I realized who it was now after and why so I shouted to the others, "You all get to safety; I'll lead this thing away from you."

"But you can't…" Kaori started to argue.

"May the Great Kami remember you" Rina told me with tears in her eyes as she took hold of Kaori's arm and led her away from me as I split off from them.

Glancing back, I noticed Mama swim up to my shimai-tachi with fear in her eyes before looking on at me. The shark was now upon me and held its mouth open. Seeing those enormous teeth, I could almost feel them biting into my skin and I tried to swim a little faster despite my getting tired.

That was when a black flash shot through the water, took hold of me, and shot up towards the surface of the water, clearing it and getting us out of the way of the shark as it lunged for us and leaped up out of the water only to splash back down. I looked up into the face of the one holding onto me to see the one person whom I had thought I could never trust.

"Are you alright, Lucia-chan?" he asked of me and I just buried my face into his warm chest.

"You care…you really do care" I said into his chest.

"Of course, I care; you're my mei" Blade replied as he was soon setting me down on the shore and placed his hand against my injured arm, healing it.

"Were the others able to make it to safety?" I asked of him.

"I don't know, but Baron's down there trying to keep that monster away from them as best as he can" Blade replied.

"I thought Megalodons were extinct" I then commented while watching my tail and fins revert back into my legs and feet while failing to realize that I was now completely undressed.

"They are" Blade replied simply before giving me a wink, pulling out his sword, and diving back into the water as I caught his meaning: If they weren't now, they soon would be.

Blade's POV

I soon spotted Baron, the two small Mermaids clinging to him while their parents were swimming ahead of them, and using his giant shuriken as a propeller to send them shooting through the water though still with that monstrous shark in pursuit of them.

"Piercing Light" I said as I pointed my sword at the beast and shot a beam of light from the tip of my sword into the side of the monster so that it was now coming after me.

Returning my sword to its sheathe, I pulled back my hands and held the energy in them until the shark was almost upon me.

Kaoru's POV

It felt as if in slow motion, I glanced over towards Blade and saw him waiting for the shark and yelled after him, "Blade, get out of there!"

The shark turned and opened its mouth in preparation of swallowing him and just as its jaws were about to close around him, he released the energy in his hands into the beast's throat as he called out, "Smile you son of a bitch; Solar Flare!"

The jaws closed around him and then it exploded; blood, guts, teeth, and bits of shark filled the water, but still, there was iie sign of Blade anywhere.

Baron and Rikiya gathered me and the girls together and led us back up into Akihiro's tank where the orca was already waiting for us. As we climbed up out of the water, I embraced my girls tightly as I soon gave way to tears, sobbing heavily.

"I'll tell Momoko if you like" Rikiya offered Baron as they sat on the edge of the pool.

"Iie, I'll tell her; you've got your own loss to deal with" Baron whispered back in reply.

Though it would turn out that neither of us needed to say anything, Momoko and her little girls, having already seen the whole event, were in the observation center crying heavily. We all joined them and tightly embraced one another as we all shared in a much needed cry over our losses.

Someone entered the room and made comment, "Man, the breath on that thing was foul."

We all looked up in astonishment to see Blade standing there with Lucia in his arms and she was wearing his shirt for covering.

"You're alive, but how?" I asked in surprise.

"That shark wasn't as big as we were led to believe; it was a great white possessed by one of Kaosu's shadow demons, still quite big, but not quite the Megalodon we were led to believe it was. As for how I got away, I was shot straight up and out of the shark when it blew up and then went to retrieve my mei from the shore line where I had left her" Blade explained as he sat Lucia down on the floor and began to tickle her until we were all laughing from Lucia's infectious laughter.

"That reminds me, who opened the access port to the ocean?" I then asked of my girls.

"I did, though I don't think I'll ever do it again. From now on, the only saltwater I'm swimming in is right here in the aquarium" Lucia answered honestly.

"Very well, but when we get back to the condo, you're still getting a spanking" Rikiya told her.

"Arigato, I'll feel much better after you do" Lucia replied in a surprisingly mature manner.

Blade, his family, and Baron all soon left and we repaired to our condo where we took a much needed shower and bath. After getting dried off and dressed, we now stood in Lucia's room while listening as she apologized to us.

I then sat down on her bed, draped her over my lap and delivered twenty good slaps to her backside before standing her back up and giving her a tight hug to show her that, even though she was struck, I still dearly loved her and explained to her why she was struck. Nodding her head in understanding, I picked her up in my arms while Rikiya turned down her sheets for me to put her into bed. We then tucked her in for the night together while I placed her plush seal in arms and watched as she turned over and was soon asleep.

We then left and repeated the process with the other two, though in their case it was for not telling us nani their shimai was doing and for not trying to stop her from doing it; they also understood and we then tucked them in for the night, giving Rina her plush whale shark and Kaori her plush penguin.

Returning to our room, Rikiya wrapped his arms around me as I had yet another needed cry after living through such a nightmare and then having to strike my girls; I hated having to do that, but then, disciplining in love was part of raising children. As long as they knew it wasn't just for the sake of striking them or taking my temper out on them, I was able to deal with it.

Rikiya and I turned in soon afterwards and decided to share our love for one another the way only a married couple can and soon drifted off to sleep while holding onto each other.

Momoko's POV

During dinner, each of our girls and I would occasionally look up to make sure Luke was still there and he would smile to each of us when we did. We all shared the bath that night with Anzu curled up next to him on his right, Suzuko curled up on his lap, and Akahana curled up between us as even I was sitting as close to him as I could. If he felt crowded, he never gave any indication of it, but merely smiled to the lot of us as he knew just nani he meant to us.

The girls were already asleep so he and I had to dry them off and carry them each to their respective rooms where we put them to bed. We then returned to our room where we shared our love for one another many times until we were too tired to continue. Luke then pulled the covers up over us, clicked off the light, and we both snuggled up together for the night.

Kare's POV

The shadow returned to the master that night and rejoined with him as he relished in not only the terror and sadness that it had collected, but also some of the blood that had been shed, while making comment, "Hmm, sea food, not quite nani I was hoping for, but the rest of it is a true delight."

"Shall we rest up for the night and prepare another fiasco in the morning?" Kanojo asked of the master with a yawn.

"Very well, make it so" he said and both Kare and I curled up on the couch to get some rest.

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><p><strong>Carly: Intense and emotional chapter, though suggestive at the end, but at least that's all it was.<strong>

**TCW: I have to maintain my rating and as the site's administrators have announced recently, MA rated material is NOT allowed.**

**Carly: True. So nani is in store for the next chapter?**

**Next time…**

**Sherbet: Why is he behaving so peculiarly?**

**Hikari: Let's hide in our room to keep out of his way!**

**Kaarii: Can I ever trust Josh again?**

**TCW: Stay tuned to find out!**

**Carly: All this and a whole lot more still to come.**

**Momoko: Just be sure to review and favorite while you wait, or TCW may think you're not interested and stop writing. If that happens, I will NEVER forgive you!**

**Carly: Take it easy, Momoko-chan; I'm sure someone will leave a review.**

**Momoko: Okay then!**

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><p><strong>Author's Note: Okay, so I know that there are a lot of people out there who believe 'doing the deed' outside of wedlock is okay, but this is just me stating my beliefs and morals, so please, spare me the flack.<strong>


	74. The Devil You Know

**Arigato for the nice reviews, friends! For this next chapter, I am forced to caution all of you that there is going to be a lot of coarse language as we once again meet an unfriendly blast from Kaarii's past with…**

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><p><strong>The Devil You Know<strong>

Sleeping soundly, I began dreaming a memory that made iie sense to me as I had never experienced it before.

_~Enters Dream State~_

_Walking somewhere, I rounded a corner when something was swung into my stomach and caused me to drop to the ground in pain. Gasping for breath, I looked up in time to have someone then kick me in the face, knocking me back and away._

_I looked up into the face of some punk who had a sadistic smirk on as he held me by the shirt collar. I could feel a sense of fear within me; tears were streaming my eyes and felt like a bomb went off in my stomach as I prepared to feel the worse of it._

_"Well, it's about time I caught up with you!" the punk said, as he held a fist up._

_"You... Why did you have to come back now of all times..." I mumbled, but it wasn't my voice._

_"Oh, put a sock in it!" he said, before punching me in the face and knocking me back to the ground. I tried getting up, but the punk jumped onto my back and started punching and slapping me on my back, face, and arms._

_"Tasuke!" I shouted, before I was turned around. I kicked him hard in the groin and then managed to scramble away, but the guy got back up on his feet and then knocked me back down while he pulled out a rifle._

_My eyes shot open and started muttering a prayer in Hebrew while squeezing my hands together._

_He pulled the trigger, but the bullet that was shot out landed smack-dab in the middle of my belt buckle and knocked me away a little bit, causing me to hit my head and then fall unconscious, and yet, I could just hear the voices around me._

_"Hey, baka" a second guy shouted. "Nani the hell do you think you're doing to Kaarii-chan?"_

_"What I've always done to her; I __am__ her former boyfriend after all" the punk returned._

_"Don't give me that crap; iie one hurts Kaarii-chan and gets away with it!" the second one said._

_"Go ahead and try something, fool, I don't mind perforating your intestines" the punk retorted._

_"Perhaps your right, nani do you think?" the second asked of a third before calling out "Ball Snare." I then heard the sound of a ball hitting some kind of hard surface and then the sound of a large gun sent skating away on the hard concrete._

_"Fine, I don't need a damned gun to deal with an idiot like you" the punk shouted as he threw me back to the ground._

_I released a groan and looked up to see a Powerpuff Boy fighting with the punk; he must have been trying to protect me._

_I laid there watching the punk and the Powerpuff Boy punching and kicking each other in all manners of combat forms._

_Soon the punk broke free of the fight and ran over to grab up his gun which he then came back over towards me and placed its barrel straight against my temple as he said, "Come on then, stupid, let's see if you can find a way to get to me before I blow Kaarii's brains out."_

_To say I was terrified at this point would be an understatement as I felt myself wanting to throw up from the tension in my stomach. That was when I noticed the Powerpuff Boy's aura change from that of an ox to that of a fierce bull as his paddle ball morphed into a giant Sashimi knife. He charged forward and slashed his weapon so that it cleaved through the punk's gun and even his belt buckle. Gun powder and buck shot spilled from the gun much to the punk's surprise just before he glanced down to notice that his pants had dropped down to his knees._

_The punk was trying to escape Powerpuff Boy's wrath when the latter, leaping high into the air, brought the spine of his blade down upon the' punks neck so that he fell to the ground in an unconscious heap and smacking his head upon a stone. The Powerpuff Boy stood over the punk's body, breathing heavily as his anger abated and his giant knife changed back into a giant paddle-ball._

_Turning back, he then approached me so as to check up on me while asking, "Are you alright now, Kaarii-chan?"_

_~Exits Dream State~_

That was when I woke up and began wondering where that dream came from before finally asking aloud, "Who the hell is Kaarii-chan?"

Looking at the time, I decided to take it up with Master Kaosu one he awoke from his slumber.

Kare's POV

I awoke to find Kanojo talking with the master as he said, "So this dream of yours you believe to have originated within the mind of the Powerpuff Girl who's mind you touched when searching for their headquarters."

"Hai, my master, at least, it's the only thing that seems logical" she expressed to him.

"And do you know of whatever became of this punk that you saw in your dream?" Kaosu inquired as he seemed to be getting some sort of a plan together.

"Give me a moment to go back over the girl's memories" Kanojo requested as she went into a trance like state. "Hai, his life forces were extinguished and his body burned to ashes. He was then dumped into the gardens of the prison from which he had escaped."

"Kare, so you've finally awakened, I see" Kaosu said as he turned to see me approach the two of them.

"Hai, master, and let me guess, you want me to go out and find this individual's spirit and convince it into helping us, am I correct?" I inquired of Kaosu.

"You are astute; now go and fulfill your mission" he replied with a malicious chuckle.

"As you command, Master Kaosu" I said as I left out of the office and went to find this prison.

I soon found the prison and touched down in the gardens which I then began searching for this one particular spirit. My search wasn't long though as I soon found him.

"You, the spirit with the greatest grudge against the Powerpuffs Z, I have a proposition for you" I told it.

"The name's Daisuke and I have no wish to help some clown with lobster claws" the spirit replied back.

"But you don't understand, the reward is a grand one indeed" I told him.

"Screw you" he replied and I fell over anime-style.

"Look, my master demands your assistance to help us defeat the Powerpuffs Z" I told him in anger.

"Oh yeah, well you can just tell your master that he can just kiss my ass" the spirit replied with a hate-filled glare.

"That tears it! You are coming with me whether you like it or not!" I shouted as I grabbed a hold of it and returned to the master.

"Let go of me, you dumb-ass clown!" the spirit was shouting in my ear as I entered the mayor's office and stepped up before the master. "Whoa, who the hell are you?" it then asked as it laid eyes upon the master.

"You do not speak Nihon-go, interesting. I am Chaos and I am the bringer of hate, destruction, and death to all mortals" the master told him and for the first time, I could sense a fear within the spirit.

"Chaos…you are my idol; whatever it is you wish of me, you shall have it" the spirit then told the master.

"Excellent, serve me well and you shall be rewarded by becoming one of my shadows; fail me *chuckles evilly* and you will iie longer have an afterlife to enjoy" Kaosu told him firmly.

"My name is Daisuke; what would you have me do, Master Chaos?" he then asked much to my surprise.

"Simple, you and one of my shadows will take possession of a certain Powerpuff Boy and through him kill the Powerpuff Girl that he is close to" Kaosu informed him.

"I'd just as soon kill my ex-girlfriend than some lousy Powerpuff Girl" Daisuke said in disappointment.

"You don't understand; this Powerpuff Girl whom you are to target is your ex-girlfriend" Kanojo said, speaking up for the first time.

"Then what are we waiting for; there is blood to be shed" Daisuke said vindictively, causing Kaosu to begin laughing in maniacal delight over his eagerness.

"Kare, take them and go!" the master ordered and I collected both Daisuke and the master's shadow and left.

Kaarii's POV

I stood in the dining room, washing the display cases while Josh was in the back baking some extra pastries and cakes, and watching over the children. Kaede was heavily engrossed in reading 'Robin Hood' with a stack of books on the counter beside her. Hotaka was helping Hikari build a puzzle; he was always so protective of her and she worried me sometimes. I mean, I knew some children could be a little slower on the uptake, but she really concerned me in many regards.

Hikari's grades were poor even though I would see her still up late some nights trying hardest to study, but still her only good subjects were general math, reading, and writing and even those were B's at best. But put some new pastry recipe down in front of her and she could tell you the secrets of said pastry that would amaze many of our guests.

Hotaka and Kaede, however, were almost always bringing home straight A's with Kaede even preforming well in her physical education classes. And of course, all three of them enjoyed their Sweets Spirit-oneesan-tachi. Clemintina took to Kaede and Hotaka while Sherbet tended to take to Hikari, which seemed logical.

"It sure is a blustery day" Kaede noted as she looked up to glance out the window.

"Nani does 'blustery' mean?" Hikari inquired quietly of Hotaka.

"It means windy" Hotaka replied as he brushed a lock of Hikari's hair out of her eyes.

"Hikari, it was on the spelling test a few days ago and you forgot already?" Kaede asked of her in disbelief.

"Now, Kaede, be nice to your shimai; it's not her fault if she doesn't remember a word that one rarely comes across on a daily basis" I gently chastised her while setting a glass of strawberry milk upon the table beside Hikari, a glass of vanilla milk beside Hotaka, and finally a glass of chocolate milk by Kaede.

"Hai, Mama" Kaede replied with a sigh; she was always getting frustrated with her shimai's shortcomings.

Collecting up their empty plates and utensils, I carried them to the back and set them into the sink for washing when a strong gust of wind blew open the back door.

"Whoa, maybe we should lock the backdoor today" suggested Josh as he pushed the door shut against the wind.

I quietly nodded my head in agreement and, as he locked the backdoor, I couldn't help but glance around the daidokoro for a moment as something felt…out of place. I decided to ignore it and returned to the front of the shop to continue keeping an eye on the children. I had just stepped up behind the cash register when I heard Josh yell out as though in pain and so quickly rushed back to the daidokoro to see nani had happened.

"Josh, are you alright?" I asked of him as I saw him kneeling on the floor.

"Yes, Kaarii, I'm just fine" he replied as he stood back up.

"Daijobu, if you're certain, only don't scare me like that" I gently reprimanded him before turning back to return to the dining room.

Josh soon walked out into the dining room and called to the children, "Alright, I want you three to go upstairs to your rooms."

"Hai, Daddy" the children replied and obediently gathered up their things to return to our condo upstairs.

"Are you sure, Josh; it's a really slow day" I told him only to receive a firm slap across the face that knocked me to the floor.

"You do not question my authority" he growled at me and I looked up at him in astonishment.

He then stormed over to the front door and locked it before dropping the blinds on the door and the windows before turning back to me and saying in an almost sadistic voice, "Now to catch up where we last left off."

Clemintina and Sherbet shot one another questioning looks as they were right there in the room still and checking the extent of my injury. I started to stand up when Josh kicked me first in the side to knock me over and followed up with another kick to my stomach. I was gasping in pain and trying to keep from throwing up when I sent Josh a look of terror as it seemed as though he'd decided to act like…

That's when it hit me, this wasn't Josh. Josh would never lay a finger on me like this. His idea of catching up where we left off was either kissing or making out in either our bedroom or the furoba.

"How?" I asked in a gruff, sick voice.

"Master Kaosu, that's how" he replied as he took hold of me by my hair and was now forcing me to look up at him.

"Do to me as you wish, but don't harm my babies" I told him as I knew nani the end result of this was going to be.

"Now see, that's where you don't get it; I intend to eviscerate them in front of your eyes just before I kill you" he replied in an evil voice, never once noticing Clemintina and Sherbet flying upstairs to protect the children.

At that, I pulled back one leg and kicked him in the knee before taking off for the daidokoro and wedging the door closed.

"Come back here, bitch, or do I kill your brats with your husband's body without you to watch and attempt to protect them" I heard him request and I dropped to my knees while quietly praying.

The door burst open and I reached for my compact when 'Josh' came around the corner and slapped it from my hands before punching me in the mouth and knocking me to the floor once again.

Kaede's POV

"How long can we hide in here?" whispered Hotaka in askance.

"As long as we can hold out" I replied as we prepared to brace against dad's strength to hold the door shut.

"I wish we had our compacts with us" whimpered Hikari.

"Hey, wait a second, there's a window in this closet, maybe we can use it to escape" I then noticed as I removed the shutters that were blocking it.

"Nuts, there's a key lock on the window" Hotaka then said as he pulled open the last shutter.

I reached over and pulled out a hairpin that was helping to hold Hikari's hair up and stuck it into the lock where I wriggled it around until we all heard an audible click.

"Where did you learn to pick a lock like that?" Hotaka asked as he helped me to open the window.

"I'm not sure; I just kind of knew how to do it for some strange reason. Clemintina-oneechan, I need you to come with me. Sherbet-oneechan, do your best to help protect Hotaka and Hikari until I can return with some help" I said as I slipped out the window onto the narrow ledge just below the sill, standing on tiptoe as the ledge was very narrow, and closed the window back so as not to leave behind any clues.

Turning around I carefully crept along the ledge while hugging the wall and swallowing any and all fear as I knew I had to save my shimai, kyodai, and Mama from Daddy. I took another step and the ledge crumbled away as I pulled back.

"Try again, Kaede-chan; I'll use my Sweets Magic on the ledge to help hold it together" Clemintina told me and I nodded my head in agreement.

With her magic holding up the ledge, I continued further until I was able to reach the area above the awning and jumped down onto it so that it bounced me back up and, with a graceful somersault in mid-air, I landed on my feet and soon Clemintina joined me.

"Luke-sama's Massage Center is closest, so let's go seek him for help" I told Clemintina as I took off running.

We arrived within a couple of minutes, but I knew that time was a very precious thing that I didn't have a lot of as I burst through the door to the surprise and questioning looks of Momoko-sama and a patient of theirs.

"Kaede-chan, nani is wrong; you look like you've just been chased by a demon or something" noted Momoko-sama as she came out from behind the counter.

"Momoko-sama, onegai, I need you and Luke-sama to come to the patisserie; Daddy's turned mean for some strange reason and is threatening to kill us!" I told her as Luke-sama opened the door to his office and look down at me in surprise.

"I think he's been possessed by something" Clemintina added and the two of them turned to take up and strap on their power belts.

Whipping out her compact, Momoko-sama summoned all of their friends available to come help out. Then they transformed into their Powerpuff identities, picked me up in their arms and we left back out the door to return to the patisserie.

Sherbet's POV

I could hear the thundering footsteps of both Kaarii and 'Josh' coming up the stairs and so used my magic to take up a bat and held it at the ready. As soon as they came around the corner, I swung the bat and struck 'Josh' in the chest and knocking him to the floor as he lost his grip on Kaarii's arm.

"What the hell just hit me?" he asked as he started to stand back up until I slammed the bat down upon his foot.

"OW! If I find whichever one of your damned brats it was that keeps hitting me, I'm going to break every single bone in their little body!" he shouted to Kaarii until he finally looked up and laid eyes upon me. "What kind of damned curse did you put on that thing?"

"Speak Nihon-go you monster!" I shouted back in reply.

"Oh, I get it, you've got it set up with wires and fishing line so as to attack and scare me away with it. Well, it's not going to work" he shouted as he snatched the bat and threw both it and me across the room and skipping across the floor. "Now, where the hell are those kids of yours?"

"I don't know" Kaarii said in return.

Just then Hikari sneezed and 'Josh' turned to the closet and yanked the door open.

Picking both of them up, he took them into Hikari's room where he tied them to the bed with the sheets before pulling Kaarii into the room and slamming the door shut behind them.

"Now, Kaarii-chan, comes my final revenge. For turning me into the police, for letting your one damned friend kill me, and for thinking you could try to live your life without me, you can watch as I slowly and meticulously kill your brats" he then said as he walked over to Hikari and placed the knife's point under her chin.

That was when a beam of energy flew in through the open window and sent 'Josh' flying back against the wall and crashing down onto and through Hikari's dresser. If there was ever a person I felt totally relieved in seeing, it was Blade as he entered through the open window.

"Kaarii-chan, retrieve your children and go with Blossom" Blade told her as she rose up and already began to untie the children with Blossom helping.

"I don't think so" 'Josh' yelled as he ran up towards Blade with his knife pulled back only to be socked in the stomach by Baron; he'd come in soon after Blossom.

"So, ganging up against me, eh? Go ahead and try, I've taken on bigger and tougher crowds than you.

"Josh, stop this!" Kaarii cried out imploringly.

"Sorry, but Josh isn't quite home" he replied before charging forward and taking hold of Kaarii and preparing to run her through with the knife but stopped suddenly.

Josh's POV

I had been held down long enough by this damned shadow, but when that bastard tried to kill my kids, I lost my temper as white light shot forth from within me and into the shadow. I now stood with my fist firmly in Daisuke's stomach as he looked up at me in astonishment.

"You may have taken me by surprise, I may not have been able to break free when you started hitting my wife but when you tried to kill my little ones, you went over the line. And now you attempted to kill my beloved Kaarii; DIE YOU SON OF A BITCH!" I shouted as I felt both myself and my other persona separate to grab hold of him and to release our White Z-Rays to overpower and overwhelm him so that he disintegrated into nothingness.

We rejoined but we still had to figure out how to dispose of the shadow that was still within me. Picking the shadow up by its throat, I told it quite vividly, "You go home to your master and you tell that bastard that if he ever wishes to try anything like this again, that I will personally rip his black heart and intestines out of his body and shove them down his throat!" I then belted the thing in the face and it left out of me.

Kaarii's POV

I looked down at Josh as he lay unconscious on the floor and wondered if he was alright when he finally started to come around and soon hoarsely asked of me, "Kaarii-chan, are you and the children alright?"

I collapsed to my knees and took hold of me while bawling my eyes out against him.

"It looks like you were under the control of another spirit and a shadow monster of Kaosu's" Blade informed me and I nodded my head in acknowledgement.

"I know, but thanks to the White Z-Rays inside of me, I was able to defeat the shadow and destroy Daisuke. I hope you can forgive me, Kaarii-chan, though I wouldn't blame you if you don't" Josh said as he held a hand out to the children so as to embrace them but they only cowered away from him.

With the others helping us, we were able to get the house and bakery back in working order, though Josh never really seemed quite the same. As I gave the children their bath, Josh left for parts unknown. He never came home that night, and by the following evening, I was terribly concerned about him. I called our friends to see if they had seen or heard from him but none had.

Luke's POV

The third evening was upon us and when I found Josh, sitting alone at the bar of a tavern and looking melancholy as he was drinking a bīru. The bartender looked up at me as I sat down and simply said, "Water, onegai."

"Nani are you doing here, Luke?" Josh asked of me.

"Looking for you; you're lovely wife is worried about you" I told him simply.

"They deserve someone better than me" he replied as he downed his last swallow and requested another.

"Hmm, maybe so, but they want you instead. Besides, the only thing bīru is going to do for you is to give you one major headache" I told him offhandedly.

"Look, I don't need your two yen-tachi worth of information" he snapped at me aggressively.

"Iie, but you're going to get it anyways. Now look, put down the liquor and listen to me" I told him a bit more firmly.

He jumped up and took a swing at me, but missed and almost fell to the floor as he began crying, "I was possessed by two demons that almost killed my family and I couldn't do anything to stop them; they don't need me around to harm them and even my children are afraid of me."

"Look, I know how you feel…" I started to say but he cut me off.

"How can you possibly know how I feel? You weren't the one who was almost forced into destroying your family!" he shouted back at me.

"Hai, almost eight years ago I was forced into watching my family put to death" I told him and he looked at me as though I had just slapped him.

"Nani did you say?" he asked of me after a couple of minutes.

"I said, I was forced to bring my family to justice and to watch them die by lethal injections" I told him as I sat back down on my barstool and downed my glass of water.

"Luke, gomen, I never knew" he apologized as he sat there for a few minutes.

"Hai, well that's because I haven't told you until just now. My only silver lining is the fact that my three imoto-tachi were granted a special blessing of a second chance at life through me and my beloved wife" I told him honestly.

"You mean…" he started to say but let it drift off.

"That's right; Suzuko, Anzu, and Akahana used to be my imoto-tachi but are now instead my musume-tachi. Look, Josh, everyone makes mistakes and not all events in life do we have total control over. Your mind was possessed by a demonized spirit from Kaarii's past and a shadow so that you couldn't control yourself until such point in time that you were able to find the will inside of you to do nani was necessary to fight back. Your family realizes this, they've forgiven you, and now they just want you home and back in their lives. I can't force you to go back to them, but…if you truly love them as much as you say you do, then go home to their open arms. Speaking of which, I've got to get home myself to spend time with and spoil my musume-tachi. Oyasumi to tanoshii yume, Josh-kun" I told him as I laid some money on the counter before turning to leave.

"Uh, we don't charge for water" the bartender told me.

"I know; it's to pay off my friend's tab" I told him and he nodded his head as he picked up the money and put it into the cash register.

Kaarii's POV

The children and I sat in the main room of our condo, Hikari curled up beside me while Kaede and Hotaka lounged on the floor, as I read to them. We all turned at the sound of a key in the door and watched as Josh entered and relocked the door behind him before turning and staring at us for a moment. He then dropped to his knees as he held his arms out to us and we all rushed into his open arms to embrace him.

"Can you all ever forgive me for nani happened?" Josh asked of all of us with tears in his eyes.

"We already have" Hikari answered for us and we all hugged him again.

After getting cleaned up, he helped me to tuck the children into bed and kissed them oyasumi before returning to our room where we made passionate love to one another until we fell asleep in each other's arms.

Kare's POV

We sat there listening as the shadow told us nani had happened just before Kaosu let it rejoin him as he commented, "A pity, that Daisuke fellow would have made a great shadow demon. Let us rest now and prepare for our next attack."

Nodding our heads in agreement, Kanojo and I settled down on the couch to get some sleep.

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><p><strong>Carly: At least they forgave Josh.<strong>

**TCW: As promised.**

**Carly: And we've seen the last of Daisuke for all time.**

**TCW: Also as promised.**

**Carly: Dare I ask; nani is in store for the next chapter?**

**Next time…**

**Momoko: Holy socks, my baby!**

**Luke: I don't suppose Miyako carries a line of clothes for children of that size.**

**TCW: That's right; I'm re-hashing a chapter from this story's previous version, but it will be greatly modified.**

**Carly: And we get to see more of Kaede in action, too!**

**TCW: Right you are, Carly-chan. So meanwhile…**

**TCW, Carly, and Momoko: Be sure to read, favorite, and review, onegai!**

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><p><strong>Author's Note: For those who don't quite remember, I wish to refer you all back to chapter 51 so as to know just nani it is he's talking about. Arigato - The Cat Whispurrer<br>**


	75. Kaitou Pink Angel Cake

**Arigato for the great reviews, all! For this next chapter, I am following a suggestion to try something for the very first time. So, in light of my co-author's story of "Kaitou Red Velvet Cake" to be found in the Saint Tail section of the anime/manga genre, I am now introducing…**

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><p><strong>Kaitou Pink Angel Cake<strong>

Up early the following morning, I turned to notice a strange rosary upon my bed post opposite of my power belt. Picking the thing up, I found a note attached:

_"To the current owner of this rosary: this necklace will allow you to undertake a new persona and will give you the power of God's blessing. You are now given the duty as a new Phantom Thief to steal from the sinners and give to the sinned. As you put this rosary over your neck as if it were a necklace, to activate the powers within, you must look within yourself to find your inner Holy Thief and then let your heart tell you what you must chant. To be blunt, just wear the rosary and say, 'Forgive the sins I am about to commit for justice is their purpose'."_

Dashing out of my room, I thought to go tell Mama about my new rosary when I saw her placing a cup of coffee down on the table in front of Daddy, who seemed to suffering a major headache, while engaged in a video conference with Ken-sensei and their friends as he told them of a new discovery, "According to research, the Kaosu Tablet is believed to be either a foretelling of the end of the world, a magical tome that will allow any mortal possessing it to control Kaosu's shadow creatures, or an early representation of the Kaosu Theory. However, until such point in time as it can be deciphered, the tablet is being locked up in the storage vault of the local museum."

"If it should be a tablet to control Kaosu's shadow demons then it would be an invaluable weapon in our war against him" noted Luke-san in reply.

"Is the tablet on display for us to examine it personally?" Mama asked hopefully.

"Iie, unfortunately it's being kept locked up until the text is translated; it seems to almost be written in an even more ancient form of Nihon-go than we've ever heard of before that was done using nani can only be best referred to as hieroglyphics" Ken replied and there was an audible groan of disappointment from those involved. "The good news is that a veritable Rosetta stone has been discovered that should help find some way to decipher it, but it, too, is locked up."

"And if word of this reaches Kaosu himself, then we can count on his destroying the museum to find and thus destroy the table as well" noted Takaaki-san in frustration.

"Which would put us right back at square one" I heard Daddy say in equal frustration.

I then decided to sneak away back to my room where I sat upon my bed to think on nani I had just overheard and came to realize, "If I could find a way to sneak into the museum and break open their vault, I could steal the tablets and bring them to Ken-sensei so that he could study them."

I then looked down at the rosary in my hand and smiled as I realized just nani I had been blessed with as I placed it around my neck and it began to sparkle with a light of its own.

"Forgive the sins I am about to commit for justice is their purpose" I said in a prayer manner as a bright light flashed enshrouded me as my pajamas vanished from around me.

A white leotard soon surrounded my torso as a pink miniskirt with black trim wrapped itself around my waist. My hair went from brown to black and it went from being worn down to being tied in a bun. A white mask appeared upon my face and was soon adorned with a pink Mardi-Gras design. My bare feet were then engulfed by platform heel boots that had a white upper section and pink lower section with matching laces. White angel-like wings with a pink design upon the backs of them then formed upon my back that soon went from being spread wide to wrapping themselves around me like a cape.

I then turned to examine myself in my mirror and quietly commented to myself, "Quite a metamorphosis but at least I'm still cute!" I then slid my window open and snuck out, opening my wings to sail through the sky as though on a hang-glider.

Kaarii's POV

I sensed a strange energy coming from Kaede's bedroom and quickly ran to see nani was going on only to find the place empty. Walking over to her window with a bit of concern within me, I looked down to notice a single feather upon her floor and picked it up.

"Nani kind of a bird has feathers this size?" I quietly asked aloud of iie one.

Turning, I noticed Kaede's power belt was still hanging on her bedpost. I was on the verge of panic when I saw a note sitting on Kaede's vanity and so went to pick it up to read the words written upon it.

"This is written in solid gold!" I noted before reading the text. "So that's nani happened; good luck my little Phantom Thief and may the heaven's watch over and guide your path."

The note then vanished from my grasp and I just sat down on Kaede's bed to think over this new twist of fate.

Kare's POV

I was lounging on the couch, listening as Kanojo read over the local newspaper's articles while the Master paced.

"Nani; someone has found the Kaosu Tablet?" Kanojo asked in shock.

"NANI; I thought we destroyed that damned thing!" Kaosu shouted in disbelief.

"Apparently we didn't destroy it well enough" I noted as I glanced at the article from over Kanojo's shoulder. "According to this, it's at the local museum and is locked away in a vault to keep it from public view until it can be deciphered, but the humans hold iie hope in that happening anytime soon."

"Then we must go to this museum, break into it, find that tablet, and obliterate it before it can be deciphered and thus used against us" Kaosu commanded us so we all left to find the museum.

"Hai, but as soon as we leave, the Powerpuffs will be alerted to our presence and will be upon us in iie time" I noted to the master.

"Kanojo, use this shadow and your host's body to find some way to keep those Powerpuffs distracted while Kare and I find and destroy that tablet" Kaosu instructed and Kanojo bowed her head in acceptance of her mission.

Momoko's POV

I was watching the girls as they were playing in the pool and chasing each other around it when I noticed that Anzu seemed to be a bit shorter than her shimai-tachi.

"Hey, iie fair going into the deeper part of the pool" Anzu protested as she was also the worst swimmer of the three.

Her shimai-tachi, however, didn't listen as they swam off into the deeper and of the pool and thus leaving Anzu behind. Turning around, she headed for the steps and so rose up out of the water. As soon as she was out of the water, she stripped out of her bathing suit and threw it upon the ground before snatching up a towel and walking away to sit alone.

I wished Luke had been home as he always knew how to talk with her and I didn't wish to leave the other two unsupervised.

"Girls, don't you think you should have been a little more considerate of your shimai's situation?" I asked of them as they came up to hover in the water close to where I was sitting while watching Anzu storm away.

"But we were only trying to get her to try swimming some more, Mama" Akahana replied honestly.

"We still could have told her as such so that she wouldn't be as angry right now" Suzuko told Akahana, feeling bad for hurting Anzu's feelings.

"You're right; let's go find and apologize to her" Akahana replied as she was also beginning to feel bad about it.

Watching as the two left, I walked over and picked up Anzu's bathing suit and squeezed the water out of it. However, hurt feelings were to be the least of our worries.

"I wish I was bigger, I wish I was a better swimmer, and I wish my shimai-tachi were more understanding" Anzu grumbled under her breath while sitting on a bench in the garden with only her towel for covering.

While pouting over her situation, Anzu failed to notice as a shadow flying towards her. As Akahana and Suzuko were calling out to her as they approached, Anzu felt the shadow demon enter her and caused her to scream out in pain.

Hearing my little girl's scream I ran towards the garden and soon saw Anzu writhing on the ground as black energy was surrounding her and, as it settled into her, she grew to immense proportions.

"Nani do we do now, mama?" asked Akahana as she was now hiding behind me.

The pain must have stopped because Anzu, now a forty-foot giantess, stood up and said, "I'm hungry."

"I don't think a sandwich is going to be enough to fill her" noted Suzuko when I realized another dilemma: I had a forty-foot tall little girl with nothing to wear.

"Anzu, sit still for a moment, onegai" I called up to Anzu but she didn't hear me as she stood up and soon caught the smell of something edible in the air. "Suzuko, run inside and call your daddy; let him know nani is going on and tell him to come home right away."

I then pulled out my compact and called up Miyako, "Is something wrong, Momoko-chan; you look like you're on the verge of a nervous breakdown."

In reply, I turned my compact's view screen to Anzu before turning it back to face me as I asked her, "Does that answer your question?"

"If this is some kind of a joke, Momoko-chan, I'm not laughing" Miyako said with a sigh.

"Look out your store front window, Miyako-san" Akahana told her and I could hear Miyako release an annoyed sigh soon followed by her exclaiming, "Oh, my word! Momoko-chan, I don't carry clothes of those proportions."

"Can you at least come up with panties for her; she's hungry" I called in as I noticed Anzu place a hand upon her tummy which was audibly growling.

"I'll see nani I can do, but most eateries have a policy of iie shoes, iie shirt, iie service let alone pants" Miyako said as she closed her compact and leaving me to contend with Anzu on my own.

Miyako's POV

Closing my compact, I dashed into the back where I select a bunch of skeins of white silk and began sewing them together as rapidly as I could while the boys and Takaaki sent me a puzzled look.

"Uh, something going on that we should know about?" Takaaki asked of me.

"Iie, time to explain, bring me as much elastic as possible" I told him as I soon had the boys helping to lay the silk cloth out.

"These almost look like underpants" noted Youga aloud.

"That's impossible; they'd have to be for someone at least forty-feet tall" criticized Tomohiro.

"You said it exactly, Tomohiro" I told him as I began sewing the elastic around the waist while indicating Takaaki to get started on the left leg hole.

"But why would we need panties big enough to fit a forty-foot girl?" Eri asked, ever the observant one when it came to watching me create clothing designs as he was working on the right leg hole.

"Something unforeseen has occurred and right now Anzu is our forty-foot tall giantess" I answered and noticed Eri starting to sew even faster; he had a crush upon Anzu while Tomohiro liked Suzuko and Youga liked Akahana.

"Done!" the three of us announced once the last stitch was sewn and the threads were cut.

I then led my family in our transformations, "Orbital Bubbles" "Corona Baron" "Asteroid Blast" "Meteoric Bison" "Planetary Beetle" Cosmicpuffs Z."

Folding up the large pair of panties, we all flew off towards Momoko's house only to see Anzu walking down the street and sniffing the air as though following an enticing scent with Blossom, Bright, and Butterfly tailing her.

"Blossom-chan" I called out and Blossom gave pause to send me a glance. "I've got some underpants for Anzu."

"Domo arigato, now to get her to put them on" Blossom commented with a sigh of relief.

"She's not your nudist, is she?" Baron asked of her.

"I don't do that anymore!" protested Bright quite loudly.

"Do nani anymore?" Blade inquired of us as he joined us.

"Run around the house naked; she's only that way at night and then only when we're going from the furoba to our bedrooms" Butterfly answered.

"Can we onegai focus here?" Bright screamed at us while her cheeks were a vivid red.

I then noticed Blast taking notes on this and was about to say something when we all heard loud horn honking and the sound of a building falling and so all turned to notice Anzu, now on her bottom in a pile of rubble that used to be a building that was slated for tearing down anyways and complaining, "Stupid truck."

Unfolding the underpants, we all held them open while Blade called out to her, "Come on, Anzu-chan; you need to put on your underpants."

Listening to her father, Anzu stepped into and pulled them up around her waist when Berry and Barrage flew up with another length of cloth and wrapped it around her chest, carefully tying it around her.

"It's not a yukata, but at least it's something" noted Barrage as she and Berry flew over to join the rest of us as we continued following Anzu to her destination.

We then received a call from Ken, "Guys, I'm picking up three sources of dark energy; two are at the museum and one is currently traveling down Main Street."

"Well, it's the one traveling down Main Street that has us the most concerned at the moment, Ken" Berry replied back.

That was when we noticed Anzu stop and crouch down in front of Kaarii's bakery to try and peer inside before knocking.

"Either you had a major growth spurt overnight, or Ken's been messing around with the Professor's old equipment again" noted Kaarii as she stepped out of her bakery and gazed up at Anzu.

"I'm hungry" was all Anzu said to her.

"Josh, would you bring me twenty loaves of bread and four cakes, onegai?" Kaarii called back into her shop.

"Arigato for being so understanding about this, Kaarii-chan" Blossom expressed to her gratefully.

"It's iie problem, but how did she get like this in the first place?" Kaarii asked as Josh brought out the bread and cakes.

Blossom then began to explain nani all had transpired, causing Butterfly and Bright to hang their heads in shame of how they had treated their shimai, and we all nodded our heads in understanding.

Pink Angel Cake's POV

I had arrived at the museum and used one of the air conditioning vents to sneak inside and using a little honey to gum up the works of the fan blades so that I could get past them without being sliced into confetti. Approaching the back vault, I used a small spray bottle of hydrogen to freeze the lock and with a firm kick, broke the handle off to gain access. Searching the computer archives, I found the location of the Kaosu Tablet and shut down the computer before scampering off to locate the item in question. Using an ice pick, I pried the lock off and slid the tray with the tablet out and pocketed the thing along before closing it all back up.

Iie sooner had I closed the slide-out tray I heard an explosion at the front of the museum and dashed out of the vault.

"I don't get nani these humans see in such ancient artifacts that they would deem a need to collect them all in one location" I heard a monstrous voice say and I froze up with fear.

"They hold such fascination in these items as they use them to understand their own history, Master" another voice said and I took off to hide down behind a display case.

"Once we find and destroy that accursed tablet, these humans will iie longer need to be concerned with their past but will instead have to focus on their present and futures under my rule" the first voice said with confidence.

"Here's the vault, Master" the second voice then said and soon followed a loud crunch as the vault's door was ripped off its hinges and cast aside.

The two then continued on their way down the corridor that led to the archive room and I took this as my opportunity to escape. Dashing up towards the rope I had left behind at one of the high windows, I climbed back up and out the window, wound the rope up, and took off gliding towards the lab.

However, I landed on a high building when I saw three helicopters hovering in the air and taking up positions around a forty-foot tall girl and looked a little harder when I noticed that the girl was Anzu.

"Anzu-chan, nani happened to you?" I asked quietly as I saw someone lean out the door of one of the helicopters and fired a gun at her.

The bullet obliterated the cake in her hand and she turned to look up at the helicopter in fright. The gunner was reloading for another shot when Anzu jumped up and began running as fast as she could to get away but the helicopters were in pursuit.

Following after them, I noticed that the Powerpuffs were being held in place by the police and armed forces. Up ahead, the helicopters were circling around Anzu when two more opened fire and nani appeared to be darts pierced into her skin before they started releasing some kind of gas around her.

Anzu, feeling very sleepy, soon dropped to her knees before passing out on the ground when I reached into my pocket and extracted both a mask and the tablet as I took flight and flew down closer to her.

"I speak to the shadow demon within; release your prisoner and disperse for your master iie longer requires you" I said, reading from the tablet and soon the shadow that was inhabiting Anzu rose up and, with a loud scream, vaporized into thin air and returning Anzu to her normal form.

"Nani, where did the giant girl go; she was just here" I heard a muffled voice ask as I was leaving the area.

"Uh, I do believe I found her" replied a second voice as one of the gunners turned around with Anzu, naked and asleep, in his arms.

"She will still make for an interesting subject to study; take her back to my lab at once" noted the first as he looked down at the sleeping girl.

"Are you nekkyo; I'm taking her to the hospital to make sure she hasn't been overdosed with tranquilizers" the gunner replied as he returned to one of the helicopters and they soon left.

Blossom's POV

I soon received a call from Pazu at Tokyo General; Anzu was brought in and he was now watching over her like a hawk until we could arrive.

When we arrived, we spotted two men in pilot garb being yelled at by a man in a lab coat, "You two have been insubordinate in the venture and you will go on report! Now where is the test subject?"

"Gomen nasai, but are you the one who gave the order to shoot at my baby girl and then had not only tranquilizer darts and a sleeping gas sprayed at her?" Blade asked of the man in the lab coat.

"Oh so you are the father of the girl who has the ability to go from being normal sized to being a forty-foot tall behemoth. Hai, I am Professor Kichigai and I am now claiming your musume as my test subject; there's iie end to the possibilities that said studies could hold. Perhaps, a natural growth hormone that will increase the size of vegetables and animals so as to end world hunger! But first, I must study and maybe even dissect her!" the man replied and I could see Blade's temper building to unbelievable proportions.

"Hai, well study this first" Blade replied as he punched the man in the face while releasing his Solar Blast attack at the same time.

"Nice one" noted the pilot.

"Way to protect your musume" praised the gunner who had refused to shoot Anzu.

Soon we heard the sound of a young child crying and turned to see Pazu step out of a room with Anzu, dressed in a child's hospital gown and called, "Hey, Blade-kun; you're little girl wants her daddy."

Blade leaped the distance and soon took Anzu into his arms as she quieted down to look into his eyes before laying her head upon his shoulder to continue crying but in a quieter manner until she fell asleep again.

"Nani I don't understand is we heard a demonic scream as we were landing and a puff of black smoke rose up out of her to dissipate into the air" noted the pilot.

"We've had to contend with shadow demons before, but none of them ever left their host in such manner before" noted Bubbles quietly while Baron nodded in agreement as he held the enormous pair of underpants folded up and tied to his back.

"Is Anzu-chan going to be alright?" asked Bison as he stood beside his mother and looking at Anzu with concern in his eyes.

"Hai, but right now, I'd suggest the following regime when you get her home, Blade-kun: A nap, followed by a nice hot bath, a hot meal, and some daddy/musume snuggle time before bed" Pazu suggested and Blade nodded his head in agreement.

Kaarii's POV

I heard a quiet thump upstairs in Kaede's room and so I went up to check up on her, opening the door a crack to see her in her new uniform which caused me to quietly gasp in amazement. She touched the star pendant of her rosary and was soon enveloped in a bright light. When the light dissipated, she was back in her pajamas and giggling. I saw her pick up her bath towel and I quickly hid out of view until she finished dashing off towards the furoba.

Once she closed the door, I snuck into her room where I noticed a large rectangular stone sitting upon her vanity and I peered down at it in confusion until I finally realized just nani it was: the Kaosu Tablet.

I soon heard Kaede returning and so hid in her closet as she stopped to write down a couple of notes before setting her rosary atop the notes before saying aloud, "I've got to remember to drop this artifact at the lab tonight."

"I'll wait for you to return so I can tuck you in for the night, my little Phantom Thief" I said aloud as I stepped out of Kaede's closet and catching her by surprise.

"Mama, I…" she was soon at a loss for words as she looked up at me.

I just knelt down in front of her and wrapped my arms around her as I told her of my finding the note, "Don't worry, your secret is safe with me."

"Just so you know, Mama, I'm called Pink Angel Cake when I'm in my Phantom Thief uniform" Kaede told me in confidence and I nodded my head as I kiss her on the forehead before taking her hand into mine and we headed for the daidokoro to eat dinner with the rest of the family.

After dinner, Kaede, or should I say Pink Angel Cake, left to take the Kaosu Tablet to the lab and left it in Ken's study along with a note which read, "This is the Kaosu Tablet stolen from the museum to help you to find a way to destroy Kaosu. Use it in good health. – Kaitou Pink Angel Cake"

When she returned and had changed back into her normal self, I picked her up and set her into bed before pulling her shirt up and blowing raspberries upon her bare tummy. When finished, I tucked her into bed and kissed her oyasumi.

Smiling back at my sleeping little girl, I clicked her light off and quietly left out of her room to turn in for the night myself.

Momoko's POV

When we took Anzu home, Luke did almost everything Pazu had instructed him. Only, instead of a simple daddy/musume snuggle period, he took her into his study where he kept his collection of buster swords and while holding her, he walked around the room telling her nani each of the large swords was called. Though having every intention of returning to our room to snuggle up with me, Luke fell asleep with Anzu curled up to his chest upon her bed. Smiling at the two of them, I picked up a blanket and draped it over both of them before slipping out of the room to attend the other two.

Strangely enough, even though they weren't really guilty of nani all had happened to Anzu, they still requested disciplinary action and so I gave each of them ten whacks across their bare o-shiri-tachi before putting them into bed and tucking them in and kissing them oyasumi while telling them how proud I was that they were so ready to take responsibility for their actions.

Double checking all of the doors to ensure that they were locked, I then headed up to my room only to find Suzuko and Akahana waiting for me in my room. Smiling down at them, I yanked them out of their nighties and removed my own before we slipped into bed for the night.

Kare's POV

Kaosu was notably annoyed when we returned that evening. Not only had our search proved fruitless, but the shadow had not returned despite our knowing nani had happened earlier in the day.

"I don't get it; why would the newspaper make a report on something only for it to be completely untrue?" Kanojo inquired in confusion.

"Perhaps they didn't; maybe someone else beat us there and stole the tablet before we could" I offered helpfully.

"That's completely ridiculous…" Kanojo started to say but was interrupted by the master.

"Maybe not; I thought I sensed a divine power source while at the museum, but I thought little of it at the time" Kaosu noted to both of us.

"A Phantom Thief" Kanojo and I exclaimed together as we realized just nani the master meant.

"It would seem that the Heavenly Deities have decided to intervene once again. Iie matter, without their Heaven-sent Warriors to fight against me, I will conquer this pathetic world and the rule of Kaosu will take control" Kaosu said assuredly. "Get some rest; we have much more havoc to create on the morrow."

With that, Kanojo and I lay down upon the couch and drifted off to sleep together.

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><p><strong>Carly: That was a nutty chapter!<strong>

**TCW: To say the least.**

**Carly: So nani is in store for the next chapter?**

**Next time…**

**KPAC: Hey, who's the new guy?**

**Mystery Person: I am your cohort in justice attaining crime.**

**TCW: That's right, expect to see even more of Kaitou Pink Angel Cake and meet her new partner.**

**Carly: All this and still a whole lot more still to come, so stay tuned.**

**Momoko: Just be sure to favorite and review while you wait onegai!**

**Author's Note: For the record, Kichigai means Madman/woman. – The Cat Whispurrer**


	76. Birds of a Feather

**Arigato for the grand reviews, everyone. For this chapter, look for a cameo appearance of yours truly. And now, without further ado, let's join Kaede and Hyosuke as they prepare to meet their…**

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><p><strong>Birds of a Feather<strong>

Kaede would continue to sneak out at night to try to find some crimes to right as Pink Angel Cake and would always return before midnight where I would meet her in her bedroom to tuck her in for the night. However, while thinking that she was remaining unseen, a hidden neighbor was always watching her return to sneak back in through her window.

Hyosuke's POV

I was up watching for Kaede's return one night when I noticed she had a scrape on her arm and quietly gasped in shock. From my vantage point, it looked like she'd been grazed by a bullet and when she stepped through her window and reverted back from her new form, her mama rushed out of the room to retrieve a first-aid kit. I dropped down to where I could just watch them through my binoculars as Kaarii-san cleaned and bandaged her arm before tucking her into bed for the night.

I then returned to my own bed to try to get some sleep but I couldn't as I kept trying to think of some way to assist her and thus keep her from harm. I'll be the first to admit it; I had a crush on Kaede before her new identity, but now I liked her even more when I learned that she had taken on her new identity. Though it had to be confusing to have three separate identities, but still I yearned to have a third one of my own just so I could help her.

The next morning, we were out running errands with Mama when Chikako asked if we could stop in at the pet shop to look at the animals and so we entered the store to look. I was looking at an African Grey parrot when I noticed Kaede walk up, her arm still bandaged, to look at a Rose-Breasted Cockatoo.

The shop owner walked over and took up the bird Kaede had been looking at when I asked of her, "Are you alright?"

"Hai, though I do hope those people decide not to adopt that bird" Kaede replied while watching a couple trying to pet the bird only to get firmly bit by the bird.

"I was referring to your arm; did you scratch it on something or did you get grazed by a bullet?" I asked of her in concern.

"I went to the shonikai and got a shot this morning; where would you get such a crazy notion as that?" Kaede replied in disbelief while watching the pet shop's owner return the bird to its cage.

"That tears it; that was the third customer you bit!" the shop owner yelled at the pink bird.

"Don't yell at her!" Kaede fussed back at the man as she reached up and began scratching the bird on its head as the bird leaned into it.

"Well, it seems to like you, so here; take the bird and go. It's already cost me more money by biting people than it's worth, so take it. And you, boy, you can take that smart-mouthed African Grey with you, too" the shop owner told us as he opened the parrots' cages and let us hold them.

"Are you sure?" I heard Mama inquire as she and Kaarii-san approached.

"I'm sure; I may be angry with those birds, but not even they deserve the fate that would await them if they go back to their breeders. It just wouldn't be right to euthanize them, especially since they love those two children" the shop owner replied.

"Sometimes, it isn't so much a matter of nani the potential caretaker of said animal that matters as does the heart of the animal. Take this beautiful little blue girl cat on my shoulder for example. Shōnī-chan hates dogs, she has a sensitive digestive system, and her heart just wasn't into any of those who would try to touch her, so she'd attack them" spoke up another stranger with brown hair, blue eyes, and wearing glasses.

"But she isn't attacking you" noted Kaede.

"Oh she did when I first met her, only I refused to be intimidated by her. When the shelter's adoption agent heard about this one's fate, she gave her to me though I did make a nice contribution to the shelter in return. The point is Shōnī-chan's heart and tummy weren't happy so she was mean to most people. But now that I have her on the right diet, she's much easier to handle, though she can still be a little feisty, but then, I like my cats feisty. Those parrots' hearts are set upon you and your friend and will thus remain unhappy until they are united with those they love and care about" the man told us as he turned and began walking away with a bag of food under his arm.

"Iie truer words have been spoken. Of course, you will need a cage, some bird food, and a little information on your feathered friends" the shop owner then told us and so with some of his help, we were able to purchase the necessary supplies for our new friends.

"I wonder who that other man in the pet shop was" I heard Mama ask aloud.

"I don't know, but his wisdom on pets was right on" I heard Kaarii-san remark while indicating me with Haiiro, my new African Grey, and Kaede with Ichigo, her new Rose-Breasted Cockatoo, sitting upon our shoulders and making light-hearted sounds.

Upon my return home, I took Haiiro up to my room and set up his cage, placing newspaper into the bottom of his cage, and filling up his one bowl with food when Chikako soon entered my room with his other bowl filled with water.

"Nani is that white thing for?" Chikako inquired while indicating the cuttlebone.

"It's called a cuttlebone and it's both a source of calcium and it helps keep Haiiro's beak trimmed" I told her and she nodded her head in acceptance.

Kaede's POV

I dashed up to my room with Ichigo upon my shoulder and began clearing out a corner of my room for her cage. Once done, I zipped out into the living room and took up the cage to return to my room where I began setting it up when I noticed Hikari enter my room to look at Ichigo in confusion.

"Pretty bird" commented Hikari.

"_Arigato_" Ichigo replied.

"She talks!" Hikari exclaimed in surprise.

"Hai, many cockatoos can be taught to speak" I told her.

Oh, okay" Hikari replied before returning to her own room.

When Daddy came home, Mama told him of nani had occurred earlier today and so he soon came to my room to meet Ichigo who bowed to him politely in return.

"Well, you certainly are a well-mannered bird, Ichigo; welcome to the family" Daddy said as he kissed me on the cheek before leaving with instruction for me to take my bath.

I was sitting at my desk reading up on Rose-Breasted Cockatoos while eating strawberries and sharing them with Ichigo when Mama entered my room and quietly asked, "Iie crimes tonight?"

"Oh iie; I got so engrossed in reading up on taking care of Ichigo that I forgot all about it. It's not been easy lately anyways since I've been having to find them; I need some kind of inside information, like an informant or something" I noted to Mama as I set Ichigo into her cage, closed the door, and draped a cover over it.

"Hyosuke seemed to notice and surmised your injury today; I think he was concerned about you" Mama then noted as she helped me in removing my pajamas since it was a hot night.

"Well, his mama is a kangofu, so it's iie surprise" I replied as Mama removed the bandage from my arm and cleaned it up.

"It's still a little red, but I don't think you're going to need a bandage tonight. We'll let it breathe tonight" Mama informed me as I slid in between the sheets and settled down.

Tucking me in first, Mama kissed me oyasumi before turning and leaving out of my room, gently closing the door behind her as I yawned and was soon asleep.

Hyosuke's POV

'Oh good, she's staying home tonight' I thought to myself once I saw Kaarii-san click her bedroom light off.

"_Peeping Tom_" Haiiro said quietly so as not to disturb the rest of the family.

"I'm just trying to make sure Kaede's staying safe" I told Haiiro in defense.

"_You like Kaede_" Haiiro noted.

"Hold on a second. I knew you could talk and identify items and such, but since when can you speak proper diction?"

"_I've done it since my birth. Ichigo and I are immortals, you know_" Haiiro said.

"You mean Ichigo can talk, too?" I asked Haiiro in amazement.

"_She sure can_," Haiiro replied. "_But we're getting beyond the point. You like Kaede, don't you?_"

"Well, un, I mean, she's…cute" I replied hesitantly though I could feel my cheeks turning warm.

Haiiro then chuckled before replying, "_Perhaps you would feel better about her adventures if you were able to join and assist her_."

"You're probably right. I mean, it'd be easier if she would just become Buttercup again instead of this new persona. And if I become Blaze, not only will she recognize me, but Mom and Dad will be alerted to it and that would mean getting Mom's hand applied to my bare o-shiri some twenty times" I replied in minor frustration.

"_I've heard prayer goes a long way_" Haiiro then told me.

There was a gentle knock on my door and I expected to see Chikako walk in to tell me she had another bad dream but instead Mom entered asking me, "Are you alright, Hyosuke-chan?"

"Hai, Mom; I was just talking with Haiiro about my being concerned about Kaede" I replied honestly; it's pointless to lie to Mom as she'd see right through it.

"Nani is wrong with Kaede that you'd be worried about her?" Mom asked of me.

"Last night, I saw Kaede coming home around midnight and slip into her room but on her arm was nani looked like some blood. When I asked her how she was doing earlier today, she fibbed saying that she went to her shonikai and got a shot. Mom, I think she'd been grazed by a bullet, not given an injection" I told her honestly without revealing the fact that she had a new persona.

"Why would someone wish to shoot Kaede? And why would she be out so late at night? Perhaps you should tell Kaarii-san in the morning" Mom told me.

"She already knows; she was up waiting in Kaede's room and almost seemed happy to see her when Kaede came home…until she saw Kaede's injury" I told her.

"Kaarii knows about Kaede's nighttime escapades and is fine with it? That doesn't sound normal" Mom commented in disbelief.

"_Then allow me to explain_" Haiiro said as he tossed a strange watch onto the floor at my feet and I picked it up as Mom looked at both of us in surprise.

"I must be more tired than I thought. I know parrots can be taught to speak and the sort, but since when can they speak full sentences and the sort?" Mom said, as she stared at Haiiro in disbelief.

"I know how you feel; it was quite the shock to find out that my new pet parrot is capable of human speech" I told Mom sympathetically

"_Put it on and repeat after me: Forgive the sins I am about to make for justice is their means._"

Placing the watch upon my wrist, I said the words Haiiro told me, "Forgive the sins I am about to make for justice is their means."

My pajamas vanished off of me and were soon replaced with dark-chocolate suit pants and matching shirt with white trim and cherry buttons. Boots developed around my bare feet with white upper half and dark-chocolate lower half. A cherry red mask with white Mardi-Gras designs developed over my eyes. My once blonde hair turned dark-brown and large dark-chocolate eagle-like wings with a cherry colored design developed upon my back.

"_You are now Kaitou Black Forest Cake, aid and partner to Kaitou Pink Angel Cake_" Haiiro informed me as I stared at my reflection in the mirror.

"Wait, wait, wait…wait; do you mean to tell me that my son has now been turned into a Phantom Thief?" Mom asked of Haiiro.

"_Hai he is; chosen by the Great One himself based upon the love in Hyosuke's heart. To change back, just press the star on the watch_" Haiiro informed me again and, doing as instructed, I was soon dressed in my pajamas once again. "_Ichigo and I are the familiars of these two thieves and as immortals, we're eternally living. All we had to do was bade our time and lie in wait for our partners._"

"That would explain why you two were so mean to the other patrons in the shop pet shop" I told my parrot.

"_Ichigo and I were just waiting for you and Kaede_" Haiiro said.

"Well, you may very well be a Kaitou now, but you are still my son and it is well past your bedtime" Mom told me as she picked me up in her arms and put me into my bed, tucked me in, and kissed me oyasumi before turning and covering Haiiro's cage before leaving back out the door.

"This is just too weird" I said.

"_You'll get used to it, Hyosuke,_" Haiiro said. "_All you need to do is follow Kaede whenever she goes out, but make sure she knows it isn't you._"

"I'll do what I can" I said, before I went back to sleep.

Extra POV

Late at night, someone drove up to the local Samurai Emporium Gift Shop/Kendo School. Carefully cutting the alarm wires, a dark clad figure carefully entered the building and crept over towards the display cases and began peering into the one fill with rings of varying types and sizes.

Spying the abnormally large, black diamond ring in a corner of the display case, the individual cut a hole in the glass front of the case, reached in, and extracted the ring with a grunt as it was also quite heavy. Slipping the ring into a sack, the thief then turned and left out of the Emporium.

Isamu's POV

Heading down the stairs, I pulled out my keys to get ready to start a new day when to my horror, I found the store had been broken into, "Kanta, call the police and get down here…quick!"

The police and their top detective, Detective Gankona, arrived ten minutes later and with them leading, we entered the shop to take a look around. The stolen item was quickly identified as soon as we saw the large hole in the display case.

"Do you folks have a security camera that you run even at night?" the detective asked of us.

"Hai, it's back here in the office" Kanta replied and showed him the way while I began to take inventory of the rest of the items in the store.

"I don't get it; with so many other valuable items in the store, why in the world would someone wish to steal a black diamond ring large enough to fit the Statue of Liberty?" I asked aloud as I quickly found every other ring had been left in place and even the few Faberge items that we carried had also been left untouched.

There was a knock on the door and I turned to see Kaarii and Ami standing in the doorway and looking around in confusion.

"Gomen nasai, fujin-tachi, but we can't let you in; this is a crime scene" Detective Gankona noted to them rather gruffly.

"Wait a second, you two; I've got your special order items in the back. I'll go retrieve them for you and you can just pay us for them later" I told them despite the hard look the detective sent me.

"Daijobu, but make it snappy; we don't need any extra fingerprints messing up our investigation" the detective noted in annoyance.

I soon came back with the items; a special cake knife/server that Kaarii had special ordered and a new set of pens that Ami had been waiting for. Presenting them to the girls, they sent me a questioning look but I just bowed my head to them to which they nodded in understanding; I'd call them back later.

Turning back to Detective Gankona, I told him, "I'm expecting one more visitor today as well as a delivery to arrive."

"Then receive your delivery and visitor and be done with it" he barked back at me.

"This has to have been one of the cleanest jobs I've ever seen" noted one officer as he finished dusting the display case for fingerprints; there were none.

Kanta went into the back to receive the delivery when Luke arrived; embracing me in a tight hug as he quickly realized nani was going on.

"Are you alright, Isamu-chan?" he asked of me in concern.

"Hai, scared, but otherwise I'm okay" I told him.

"Iie one was injured then?" he inquired of me.

"We're all fine; it happened in the middle of the night while we were all upstairs sleeping" I told him before disappearing to the back and soon came back out with a long box that a couple of officers were helping me to carry.

"Now nani did you order for me?" Luke asked with a light chuckle.

"I saw this one online and thought you might be interested in it; its call the Maelstrom Buster Sword" I replied with a light smile.

"Oh for the love of…would you _onegai_ just get this transaction over with? I can't be expected to do my job with _you_ constantly getting in my way!" Detective Gankona yelled at me…bad move on his part.

Four officers ducked for cover as Luke removed his new sword from its box, twirled it over his head and now stood with the weapon poised ready to strike as he said, "You _will_ apologize to my imoto right now or you _will_ end up fileted."

"Gomen nasai for raising my voice and losing my temper; it will not happen again" the detective said to me quickly with a humble bow.

Luke then walked up to me and placed a kiss upon my cheek while saying, "Arigato for the new sword, Isamu-chan; I really love it. Though not as much as I love you."

"Doitashimashite, Oniichan; give my love to the family" I replied and waved to him as he left.

"I sure wish someone had told me before we arrived that he was your oniisan; I haven't been that nervous since my first day on the job as a rookie officer" noted Detective Gankona to me.

Part of me wanted to slap him while another part of me wish to mouth-off at him, but I chose the better part of valor and just disappeared into the office. By the time the detective and the officers had left, it was almost closing time. Kanta remained to wait for the security alarm to be installed as I headed up the stairs to start working on dinner.

Kaede's POV

I sat at the table intently listening to Mama explain about nani had happened at Isamu-chan's Samurai Emporium, "I just hope they're able to recover from the loss; that ring was valued at an easy 160,000,000 yen."

"That's a little over two million U.S. dollars!" Dad exclaimed in shock. "Where did they get the money to afford a ring like that?"

"Apparently it was a misplaced shipment that the company refused to take back under the excuse of having iie idea where it had even come from. Apparently, it wasn't even on any of the invoices for Isamu's store or for the jewelry supply center" Mom explained.

"Sounds like nani happened to the Udetsuyoi-san-tachi with that giant clam" Dad noted and even Mom shrugged her shoulders in confusion. "Well, I just hope they were well insured so as to recoup their losses on the ring."

"Nani happens if the ring can't be found and thus returned to Kaito-kun's parents?" inquired Hotaka.

"Well, without a serial number on the ring or even any information on any of the invoices, they'll have to consider it an unfortunate loss and take whatever amount of money that the insurance company will provide to them to cover not only the repairs, but the lost item. And to think that they had someone who was really interested in the ring; they were planning on using the money to purchase a new family car, expand the shop and even buy the apartment next door to them so as to enlarge their home since their beginning to feel a bit cramped in their tight places right now and their car is in need of too many repairs" Mom said with a sad sigh that settled my decision for me.

After dinner, I headed for my room and wrote out a message to Mama in invisible ink before donning my necklace and said, "Forgive the sins I am about to commit for justice is their purpose."

Back in my Pink Angel Cake uniform, I noticed Ichigo now also bore a small white mask of her own and her wings were now a bright white as she told me, "_Onegai, take me with you; I can help._"

I looked at her rather blankly at first as I had iie idea that she could speak so eloquently as I asked of her, "You can talk?"

"_Hai, I've always been able to, but I kept to the traditional bird-talk until I was able to be united with my Kaitou partner…you_" she told me as I unlocked her cage.

"You'll have to tell me about it later; right now, I have a crime to right" I told her as we both took off out of my window.

Hyosuke's POV

I was searching the internet for possible signs of and/or information on the ring in question after hearing Mom speak of it at dinner when I saw Kaitou Pink Angel Cake sneak out of her window and took off with Ichigo following after her.

Leaving Mom a note, I donned my watch and I said, "Forgive the sins I am about to make for justice is their means."

I now stood in my room in my Kaitou Black Forest Cake uniform when I noticed Haiiro was also wearing a dark chocolate mask and his wings were also dark chocolate as he told me, "Take me with you; I can help direct you."

Unlocking his cage, I told him, "Daijobu, let's go."

Sneaking out of my window, I then decided to chase after Pink Angel Cake from the rooftops and soon found her checking into a pawn shop that still had its lights on. Inside, there was a bored young woman reading a manga.

"Can't be this one; they don't sell jewelry" I heard her say to her parrot partner.

"That's because you're searching the wrong establishments" I said from above her and she turned to look at me in surprise.

"Who are you?" she asked of me.

"I am your partner, Kaito Black Forest Cake and if you'll follow me, I'll take you to the shop in question" I told her.

"How do I know I can trust you?" she asked of me suspiciously.

"Because both your rosary and my watch are heaven-sent to us by direction of the Great Kami and bestowed our immortal parrot-partners upon us" I replied to her.

"That'll work" she replied as we jumped back up out of hiding as the jeweler inside closed up his shop for the night.

"That rich stiff is going to pay handsomely for that ring I stole. I'll be set for life" the jeweler said triumphantly as Pink Angel Cake caught the door just before it could completely close.

The four of us swung down and disappeared inside the door and took to hiding as we then heard the man say, "Oops, I almost forgot to lock the door; that wouldn't be a good thing especially if some thief should attempt to steal back the ring I already stole."

"Now how are we going to get out?" I asked as I heard the key being removed from the lock and the guy left.

"There's a skylight above for us to sneak out once we recover the ring" spoke up Ichigo and we all turned to look up towards the ceiling.

Pulling out a pocket flashlight, I began shining it around to spot the massive ring when soon my light reflected back off of the stolen item.

"Something's not right; the diamond doesn't reflect the light" I told Pink Angel Cake.

"Let me try something; To the shadow within the ring, disperse and exist iie more for your master iie longer requires you" she spoke and a large amount of black energy swirled around the ring before taking on the form of a shadow demon which released a shriek of despair that broke all of the glass in the store and soon the shadow dissipated into nothingness.

"Hey, nani the hell is going on in here?" shouted an angry voice in askance as the door flung open and the lights turned on temporarily blinding us in the process. "Why you lousy little punks; trying to steal the ring I already stole, eh? Well, let's see nani the police have to say about that. Hai, I wish to report an attempted robbery. Hai, I have the young, costumed perpetrators right here with me."

He had just finished giving them the address when Pink Angel Cake took out some small round balls and threw them at the jeweler which exploded into a spattering of a mixture of honey and gum which stuck the guy to his telephone. Removing an SD card from my digital voice recorder, I placed the card as well as a note to the police upon the counter before helping Pink Angel Cake to pick up the heavy diamond ring and we quickly left just before the cops arrived.

Detective Gankona's POV

Walking inside with a couple of officers just behind me, we gave pause to look at the jeweler who kept trying to pull a note and a SD card away but couldn't reach it.

Picking it up, I read the following message, "The ring we stole is the property of the Udetsuyoi-san-tachi and we are currently returning it to them. A confession from the jeweler, the real thief, can be heard on the SD card we left for you. - Kaitou Pink Angel Cake and Kaitou Black Forest Cake"

"Shinshi-tachi, take this man into custody and to get cleaned up" I instructed them as I placed the card into my netbook computer and played the message to hear the jeweler's own voice say that he had stolen the ring in the first place.

"So, it would seem as though the Phantom Thieves have reappeared; just as my ojiisan-tachi told me in his stories about my idaina, idaina, idaina ojiisan" I noted to myself quietly as I turned to leave back to my car and left.

Pink Angel Cake's POV

Black Forest Cake and I carried the large diamond ring back to the Udetsuyoi-san's home where we noticed a window was open. Peeking inside, we saw Isamu-san and Kanta-san curled up in bed asleep and so we slipped the ring inside along with another note attached to it before taking off to return home.

We were not too far from my home when we both gave pause to speak to one another as I told him, "Arigato for your help tonight, Black Forest Cake."

"It was my pleasure, Pink Angel Cake, and I do hope we get to work together further in the future" he replied as he took my hand into his own and kissed the back of it rather chivalrously.

He then turned and leaped off the roof towards wherever it was from when he came as I continued on my own towards home. Slipping into my room, I saw Mama sitting upon my bed, waiting for me with a smile on her face. I returned Ichigo to her cage and covered her up for the night.

"Well, my little Phantom Thief, were you successful in your mission?" she asked of me once I had changed back and she'd taken me into her arms and sat me upon her lap.

"Hai, and I met another Phantom Thief as well; his name is Kaitou Black Forest Cake" I told Mama excitedly, though I could definitely feel my cheeks blushing.

"It sounds to me like he did more than help you in stealing back that diamond ring; he also stole your heart" Mama said with a smile as she tucked me in for the night.

Hyosuke's POV

I had just finished putting Haiiro into his cage and covered him up for the night when Mom entered my room with a sigh of relief that I had returned unscathed.

Pressing the star on my watch, I was soon back in my normal clothes as she came over to me and wrapped her arms around me from behind while inquiring, "So how was your first mission?"

"It was great, Mom. Not only did I meet Pink Angel Cake, I helped her in stealing back the giant diamond ring that had been stolen from Isamu-san's store and we even returned it together" I told her excitedly as she led me back over towards my bed.

"I'm just happy to have you back home and in one piece" she confessed while pulling out a change of underclothes from the drawers in my bed.

"Mom, I also think I'm in love" I told her with a yawn as she began undressing me completely.

"I thought I heard you giggling when you first got back in" was all she told me as she picked me up in her arms and hugged me to her chest despite my being naked in her arms. "I'll have to make sure your father has 'the talk' with you in the morning."

"Mom, I'm only seven; I don't think I'll even start being interested in her like that for another ten years. Besides, I already heard Dad speaking with Chikako about such things when she was wondering why she looked so different from me and Benjirou" I confessed as Mom tucked me into bed for the night; forgoing dressing me.

"Daijobu then; oyasumi to tanoshii yume, my little Phantom Thief" Mom said as she kissed me on the cheek and soon left out of my room to return to bed.

Isamu's POV

Kanta and I awoke the next morning to find the ring had been returned; only now instead of being black, it was white with a slightly pinkish hue. I slid out of bed and took up the note that was attached to it and read, "Here's your missing diamond ring that was stolen from you. – Kaitou Pink Angel Cake and Kaitou Black Forest Cake"

"It looks like our prayers were answered even if in such a peculiar manner" Kanta noted as we got dressed and soon returned to the shop where we placed the ring back into the display cabinet.

Later that day, Detective Gankona arrived and looked down at the ring in the case when he told us quite firmly, "I'd put that thing away if I were you; it'll cause less trouble that way."

"Actually, its new owner should be here within the hour to purchase and take it home with them" I told him and the detective nodded his head before turning and leaving.

A couple minutes later, the new owner, arrived wearing a fancy suit and paid us in cash for the ring and soon after left. I instantly removed the cash from the till, bundled it up, and dropped it into the safe's drop box; only way to access that was with the key that only the armored truck company had.

Kare's POV

Soon, the man whom we had given the money to, arrived with the Master's ring and so we dismissed him before calling the shadow from within him.

"Nani is this? Someone has disposed of the shadow demons that were dwelling within my ring!" Kaosu said in anger.

"Someone must have found a way to decipher the tablet so as to dispose of your shadow demons" Kanojo surmised as she gazed at the ring.

"Get some rest; I'm going to be really nasty come the morrow" Kaosu commanded us as we took our rest.

* * *

><p><strong>Carly: Now that was a cute chapter…until that end part there.<strong>

**TCW: Right you are, Carly-chan.**

**Carly: I almost dread to ask, but nani is in store for the next chapter?**

**Next time…**

**Momoko, Kaoru, Kaarii, and Miyako: Are those our fathers?**

**Luke: I don't know, but we've got to stop them from destroying the town.**

**Kaede: Looks like another job for Pink Angel Cake!**

**TCW: That's right, I'm bringing back yet another chapter from this story's previous version, but greatly modified.**

**Carly and Momoko: Just be sure to review and favorite while you wait!**

**Author's Note: The feline used in the earlier part of this story is a real cat and this was just a brief summary of her story. Shōnī - Shawnee in Nihon-go. **

**Idaina - great (in the case of the above usage, means great, great, great grandfather.)  
><strong>

**Shinshi - gentleman  
><strong>

**Fujin - lady  
><strong>

**The Maelstrom Buster Sword is a real buster sword made by the Strongblade company and can be found online.  
><strong>


	77. Four Fathers of the Apocalypse

**Arigato for the reviews, everyone; I know this is a long time coming, but your wait is over. For this next chapter one brief note: the song contained within is called 'Sanctuary' by Utada Hikaru with the lyrics courtesy of and is the English version; the Japanese version is called 'Passion'. Now, let's prepare to meet…**

* * *

><p><strong>The Four Fathers of the Apocalypse<strong>

The following morning Tokio, Hachizou, Gotokuji-san, and Shiimasutou-san gathered together, each answering a summons to the mayor's office. The four men entered the office and cast uncertain glances around when Kare suddenly slammed door shut behind them as Kanojo spun the mayor's chair around to smile wickedly at them and Kaosu sent four powerful shadows into the four men.

"Senso, Kikin, Owari, and Kotaishi; go and terrorize this city so as to draw out your daughters and destroy them with a vengeance" commanded Kaosu as he turned back to look out the window while the four men left.

Momoko's POV

Luke and I were driving towards the girls' shonikai's office while singing along with one of my favorite songs in its Ei-go version.

_In you and I there's a new land  
>Angel's in flight<br>wonk uoy naht noitceffa erom deen I_

"I hate that line" I grumbled.

_My sanctuary, my sanctuary, yeah  
>Where fears and lies melt away<br>Music will tie  
>wonk uoy naht noitceffa erom deen I<em>

"Nani is wrong with it?" Luke asked innocently.

_What's left of me what's left of me now_

_I watch you fast asleep_  
><em>All I fear means nothing<em>

_In you and I there's a new land_  
><em>Angels in flight<em>  
><em>wonk uoy naht noitceffa erom deen I<em>

"I can never fathom nani it is she's saying at that point" I answered him.

_My sanctuary my sanctuary yeah  
>Where fears and lies melt away<br>Music will tie_

_wonk uoy naht noitceffa erom deen I_

"She says 'I need more affection than you know' in reverse" Luke told me.

_What's left of me what's left of me_

_snwod dna spu ynam os_

"'So many ups and downs' in reverse" Luke continued.

_My heart's a battleground  
>snoitome eurt deen I<br>wonk uoy naht noitceffa erom deen I  
>snoitome eurt deen I<br>_

"'I need true emotions' 'I need more affection than you know' 'I need true emotions'" Luke continued on further.

_You show me how to see  
>That nothing is whole and nothing is broken<em>

_In you and I there's a new land_  
><em>Angel's in flight<em>  
><em>wonk uoy naht noitceffa erom deen I<em>  
><em>My sanctuary my sanctuary yeah<em>  
><em>Where fears and lies melt away<em>  
><em>Music will tie<em>  
><em>wonk uoy naht noitceffa erom deen I<em>  
><em>What's left of me what's left of me now<em>

_My fears and lies_  
><em>Melt away<em>  
><em>wonk uoy naht noitceffa erom deen I<em>

"Arigato, I never knew. But how did you ever find out?" I said as I turned off the radio and pulled into the parking lot.

"It was a long time ago, back when Blossom was still alive. She also loved that song but wanted to know nani they were saying so I pressed both 'play' and 'reverse' at the same time and held them so that the song played in reverse and we finally got to understand just what she was saying. Of course the rest of the song sounded weird, but the end justified the means" Luke told me as we pulled into a parking space.

"Uh-oh, they did it again" I said as I looked into the backseat after hearing a click and realized that the girls escaped into the trunk again.

"They take after you in that regard" Luke commented and I just blushed as I knew he was right; I hated to see my isha too.

"Come on, girls; if you behave, I'll take you out lunch and you can even get some ice cream when we're done" I offered the girls.

Just then the trunk popped open and the girls were soon climbing out and I smiled in victory.

"Okay" Anzu and Akahana replied in agreement as we began walking towards the medical building.

"Though we were about to get out anyways; it was hot in the trunk" noted Suzuko, taking the wind out of my sails as I realized that I should have kept my mouth shut and just waited them out while Luke was doing his best not to laugh.

"Pull yourself together or you're sleeping on the couch tonight" I threatened him.

"Gomen nasai, Momoko-chan" Luke apologized as he held the door open for us.

The girls were soon called back to an examination room where they had their temperatures taken and their blood pressure checked by the kangofu before she told us, "Daijobu, if you'll undress them and slip them into the provided gowns, the isha will be in within a moment."

Helping the girls to strip, Luke passed me their clothes to neatly fold before dressing them with the provided gowns and tied them closed.

"Why do we have to be virtually naked for this?" groused Anzu in a whisper.

"You know as well as I do why we're undressed" Suzuko whispered in reply.

"At least we have these cute gowns for some kind of covering" noted Akahana as she stared down at the teddy bears that were dotting out pink gowns.

"I still wish they'd carpet the floor or something; that linoleum is ice cold and dirty" Suzuko noted.

"Be a lot harder to clean up after someone who got really sick while in here. Which reminds me, do you think they use some kind of disinfectant to wash the floors with?" Anzu replied.

"Hana, stop looking down your gown; your chest isn't going to start getting any bigger until we reach our middle to upper teens" Suzuko gently fussed at her shimai.

"Oh, okay" Akahana replied as she turned to look up at the ceiling to count the ceiling tiles.

"Do you think isha-sensei is going to get personal again?" Anzu inquired of Suzuko.

"He always does" Suzuko replied with a disgusted shiver.

"He's just making sure that you're all developing properly" I told them.

There was a knock on the door and soon the girls' isha walked in with a bright smile on his face as he inquired, "Ohayo, how are you girls doing this lovely morning?"

"Ohayo" the trio replied together though keeping a dour sound in their voices.

"As happy to see me as always, I see" he noted with a hint of sarcasm in his voice. "I know how you feel, girls; I hate seeing my isha, too."

"It's not seeing you that we hate" started Suzuko.

"It's certain parts of our examinations that we hate" finished Akahana; Anzu remained silent.

Fortunately their exams went off without a hitch, but it was when he handed us some paperwork for the lab that we knew we were in for trouble.

Kangofu-sensei and I led while Luke and Isha-sensei followed making sure the girls kept walking and couldn't escape. Admittedly, I felt guilty doing this to them and a strong part of me wanted to let them slip past me, but I swallowed it down and forced myself to keep pace. Luke held the girls as they took their turns; Suzuko taking it best. But when it came Akahana's turn, she screamed and cried all through it and when she was released ran over to me and threw herself into my arms while still crying quite heavily.

When it was all said and done, I wanted to go home so I could have a good cry of my own for having to put the girls through it, but I had already made them a promise to take them out for lunch. Riding along in the passenger seat and letting Luke drive while the girls took a nap in the back, I just lightly shed a few of my own tears in silence. I soon felt Luke's hand drift over to set it upon my thigh and gave it a loving squeeze when I turned to look at him.

"It's hard having to put the girls through something you yourself hate with a passion" he noted to me as I wiped the tears from my eyes.

"How do you do it?" I asked of him.

"Enduring putting them through it hurts me, too. Whenever I hear one of our girls start crying or someone causing them pain, I want to do that person a real serious hurt, but this is for medical purposes so I have to force myself to remain in place" Luke confessed to me.

We were about a block from the girls' favorite restaurant when there was an explosion in front of us and Luke steered the car around the explosion into oncoming traffic only to steer us back out of the way of a delivery truck and around the corner where he activated the breaks while breathing heavily.

"Nice driving" I said in praise of his efforts to save us.

"Nani caused that explosion?" asked Suzuko as she was now staring out the back window.

"I'm not sure, but that truck blew up just after we missed getting hit by it" Luke said in reply when my compact and his buckle-phone began beeping.

I allowed Luke to answer while I helped Akahana to step out of the backseat and covered her with a blanket to remove her wet underpants as she grumbled, "I could have waited until we got to the restaurant if not for that stupid explosion in the middle of the road."

"It didn't do me much good either; I'm just glad I'd already gone while still at isha-sensei's office" I told her in a gentle voice so as to show her that I wasn't angry.

"When you two are done, we've got four issues that we need to address" Luke informed us as he and the other two were preparing to transform.

I was moments like this that I was glad that I kept an extra set of clothes for each of us in the case of an emergency. Once Akahana was changed, we joined them in transforming, "Solar Blade" "Stellar Blossom" "Nebular Bright" "Celestial Burst" "Lunar Butterfly" "Cosmicpuffs Z!"

We were soon joined by Bridgette and her family as she inquired, "So nani is the excitement all about?"

"We're not sure just yet" I answered while watching Blade peering around the corner.

"There are four monsters out there and they're big ones, too" he told us.

Just then a large, red Minotaur came running into view and stopped to stare at us in hate before raising his massive double-bladed battle axe and sliced through my car with it.

"Hey, I haven't finished making the payments on that!" I shouted in anger as I threw my mini buster sword at the beast only for it to bounce off of the monster's skin.

"Senso, stop playing around with those weak mortals and allow me to finish the job" spoke up a sallow skinned monster and looking like it was decaying.

"Very well, Owari; they're all yours" the Minotaur said as it left to continue running and causing rampant destruction upon the city.

"I'm just glad Kaede is at a sleepover" I heard Bridgette mumble as she and Bash collected up their other two children and quickly left the scene to escape the demonic creature's touch.

Berry soon joined us as she spiked her ball to the ground between us and the demon so that it exploded in the monster's face and thus allowing the rest of us to get away.

"You looked like you could use some help" Boomer noted to us as he pulled back on his sling shot and fired a blast of energy into the ground so as to separate us from the demon's deadly touch even further.

I'm just glad that Hyosuke is at a sleepover" noted Berry in concern as she turned to notice the other three demons that we would have to contend with.

A white demon with the head of a vulture, a crown of some sort atop is head, wings upon its back, and carrying a scepter flew overhead and quickly released a barrage of feather-shaped throwing knives from its wings towards us and we cleared out of the way as they soon exploded around us.

"Allow me to slow them down for you, Kotaishi" spoke up a grey skinned demon that looked severely anorexic as it began to rise up so as to grab a hold of us.

A lightning bolt shot out and struck the creature in the chest and we all turned to see Kaoru, Isamu, and their families joining us on the battle field.

"Kaoru-chan, nani brings you here?" I asked of her as she kept glaring at the Minotaur.

"Take a real hard look at those things, Momoko-chan" she told me and I turned to look at the creatures before us and attacking the city.

"Oh iie" we all heard Bridgette exclaim as she set a hand over her mouth while looking at the grey demon.

"Cosmic Champagne" we heard Bubbles say as she released a barrage of energy filled bubbles upon the white one as it was preparing to fire an arrow at us. The bubbles flew over and burst in front of the white demon so that it was momentarily dazzled and thus couldn't see clearly to take its shot.

"Freezing Comet" Bright said as she released an orb of white and blue light upon the white demon and froze the creature in mid-air so that it fell to the earth but was able to break free once the ice shattered "Not to self: only use that attack on things that are on the ground."

"I think you've done more than enough for one lifetime" spoke the yellow demon as it grabbed hold of Bright's arm and causing her to scream out in pain but soon fell lifeless to the ground.

"I don't know who or nani you are demon, but you're going to pay for hurting my girlfriend" yelled Blast as he began to charge towards the demon.

"I am Owari and I shall deliver yours next" the demon replied as it grabbed a hold of Blast and sucked the life out of Blast much to her mother's horror.

"Oh iie, my baby!" Bubbles and I shouted simultaneously as we rushed forward to take our children into our arms only to find them without life.

"Do not worry, you shall soon…I shall be merciful upon you" the demon then said as it pulled its hand back and changed its direction.

Bullet and Brain soon dove in and both delivered a strong kick to Owari's head before jumping out of the way so as to keep from being touched.

"A little late to the fight, but glad you two could join us" Blade said to them while staring at Owari in pure hatred.

"Waist a second, Blade; I know you're mad with that creature, but if you attack it too well, you could run the risk of harming Dad" Brain cautioned him and Blade turned to stare at him in disbelief.

"He's right, Blade; that eagle demon is Blossom's father; the red one is Kaoru's father and the grey one is Bridgette's father" Bullet informed him as she helped Bubbles and Blossom carry the bodies of their two children away.

"Kuso, how do we fight against them if we can't do them any real harm?" asked Burst only to get a warning finger held in her face to remind her to watch her mouth.

"We don't, we knock them out" Rikiya told her gently.

"There's something familiar about those guys but I can't quite place my finger on it" noted Baron.

"The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse" replied Bash in realization.

"Nani are you talking about?" inquired Bridgette.

"In the Book of Revelations there was a reference to four horsemen, each of whom would bring about part of the end of the world. The white horseman was a prince; the red one was a warrior; the grey one was bringing about famine and pestilence; while the yellow one was bringing about death with Hades right behind him. These demons must be opposing representatives belonging to Kaosu; even their names match" Bash explained while using his paddle to deflect attacks being sent down by the eagle demon.

Pink Angel Cake's POV

Black Forest Cake and I were watching the battle unfolding below when I overheard nani Daddy had said and so said, "It's bad enough to make a mockery of us, but to make a mockery of the Great Kami is just low!"

"Hai, but there isn't much we can do from up here and those creatures are still too strong for the incantation to work" Black Forest Cake replied.

"I don't think that's going to a problem for long; look at Blossom-san" I replied to him while watching Blossom carrying Bright's dead form to her father and shimai-tachi.

Bubbles-san was doing the same with Blast's body towards Baron-san and his kyodai-tachi.

When Blade looked up after receiving his deceased daughter into his arms, I saw a ferocity the likes of which I had never seen before; even Black Forest Cake began to feel fearful.

"We did it once before to stop a storm, we can do it again" I then heard Baron say to Blade with a growl.

We then watched as everyone began gathering together energy and trading it off to one another as the energy orb got bigger and bigger.

The four demons must have realized nani was going on as they then turned their attention to the Powerpuffs Z and began to charge towards them.

"Take some of mine, too, Blade-san" I offered as I held my hand out to send some energy into the orb that was held now in his hands and Black Forest Cake did the same.

"This is for our fallen friends" Blade said as he split the orb in two. "And this one is for our fallen loved ones. Now join them and die; Nova Force!"

Blade slammed the two orbs together so that they exploded and sent out a wave of energy that knocked the four demons off their feet and greatly weakened them.

"Now's my chance: I speak to the shadow demons within; release your prisoners…" I started when I heard a demonic voice cut in from behind me.

"…And come to your master's hands" the voice continued with its own incantation and both Black Forest Cake and I turned around to see Kaosu standing right behind us.

"Release the life forces you hold within" I quickly added and I saw the energies of the one shadow leave out to rejoin with their proper hosts.

"So you're the one who's been sending my shadows into oblivion. *chuckles* Well, iie longer shall you interfere" Kaosu said as he took both of us up in his hands and two large stone obelisks rose up from the ground. "Here's an old form of punishment that I always enjoyed."

As Kare appeared to hold us in place against the obelisks, six iron nails rose up from the ground and impaled us against the stone tower. We both screamed out in pain and began breathing quite heavily from the position we had been placed in.

Bridgette's POV

I glanced up when I felt a strange sensation shoot through me and turned to glance around. Berry must have felt the same as she was also glancing around us.

"Something's not right" I told Blade in a panic.

"There!" shouted Bright as she indicated two stone obelisks and Kaosu standing between them.

Blade took off like a shot and began flying towards Kaosu with his claws extended and began to cut and slash into the demon's chest until Kaosu knocked him back to the ground and said, "Enjoy this one small victory, for it will be your last. As for you two little Phantom Thieves, I hope you have a nice, agonizingly slow death."

With that he and Kare vanished and both Berry and I turned to look at one another in horror once we realized just nani it was that Kaosu had said. Flying over to and turning around to look up at the obelisks, we saw our children had been impaled through their wrists and feet against the stone towers.

"Brain, Baron, I need your help!" Blade shouted as he jumped up and to take hold of both of them.

"Oh iie; come on, we may only have a few minutes to save them" Baron shouted to Brian who activated his backpack to bring out a magnet strong enough to pull the iron nails from the stone.

Baron caught Black Forest Cake while Blade caught Pink Angel Cake and brought both of them down to lay them upon the ground.

"Healing Hand" Blade said as he channeled energy into both Phantom Thieves so as to heal them with Bright soon joining him.

"You don't have enough energy to continue, Bright; leave them to me" Blade said as he set his forehead atop Bright's head and she obediently let go to move back to her mother's side.

It felt like ten hours to me and Berry, but ten minutes later, Blade removed his hands from the two children and when the energy dissipated, they were freshly healed.

"I don't know who those two are, but they sure picked a bad place and time for a game of cosplay. They're lucky we were in the area to save them" Kanta said as he was holding onto Isamu.

"Let's get them back to the lab where we can monitor them better" offered Bullet as Berry and I picked up our respective child and together we flew off towards the lab.

Back in our regular forms, Tomohiro and Suzuko were allowed to take a much needed nap. After seeing Ken and Kuriko step out from the medical ward, Ami and I tiptoed our way to the ward where we found Blade crouched down.

"I don't know who you two are and though I could easily take your masks off to see your faces, I'll respect your secrets. But know this, little ones, for nani Kaosu and his demons have done to you, to Tomohiro, and to my own daughter" here Blade extended his claws "I shall avenge you."

"Blade…Oniichan, we have a bit of a confession to make" Ami began and I knew we were to receive an earful when we finished telling him who the children really are.

"We'd have told you sooner, Oniisan, but we didn't feel that this was the kind of secret we should disclose to anyone else or not; I mean, this is Heaven-sent" I explained to him.

"Of all things, why couldn't they have found a way to combine their Phantom Thief identities with the Powerpuff Z ones? But you're right, one can't second guess the wisdom of the Great One" Blade commented with a sigh. "Ken; I need a small favor from you" Blade requested as Ken entered the room.

"Sure thing, Blade-itoko" Ken replied.

"I need for you to create a small tracking device to be inserted either into or onto this girl's necklace and this boy's watch; can you do it?" Blade requested.

"Piece of cake; I'll be back in a few minutes" Ken replied as he left out of the room and soon came back with two small pinhead-sized devices in a petri dish. Using very fine-tipped tweezers and a syringe of adhesive, he applied the two small devices to Kaede's necklace and Hyosuke's watch. "There, now if you wish to track them, you can do so via your compacts and buckle-phones."

"Great, meanwhile, how are our father's doing?" I requested of Ken.

"They are recuperating quite well and will have iie recollection of their moments as Kaosu's demon hosts. It's a good thing Blade pulled his punch the way he did, or the outcome could have been much worse" Kuriko answered from the doorway. "So how are Kaede and Hyosuke doing?"

"You know?" Ami and I asked in shock.

"Well, I kind of had to take a peak under their masks to check their eyes. But I won't tell anyone" Kuriko reassured us.

"Here's the ultimate question: Why would Kaosu wish to attack them anyways?" inquired Ken of the rest of us.

"This might answer that question" Kuriko said as she passed Blade a note. "I found it inside of Kaede's glove when I was trying to check her pulse."

"Let's see nani it says; _'I speak to the shadow demon within; release your prisoner and disperse for your master iie longer requires you' _it sounds like some kind of incantation" Blade said and we all turned to look at each other in realization.

"It's the incantation from the Kaosu Tablet" we all exclaimed simultaneously.

There was a small groan heard from Kaede and Blade directed Kuriko and Ken out of the room as he also escaped to allow their mothers to check up on them.

Momoko's POV

We all returned home after hearing that everyone had made a full recovery. Though I ended up driving alone, the girls in the backseat, as Luke had wanted to run a survey of the city to see if he could find Kaosu.

I had just gotten the girls bathed and into their nighties when I returned to my own room to get ready for bed when there was a knock on my door. I then turned to see Suzuko and Akahana standing in the doorway and looking at me. I sat down upon the side of my bed and opened my arms to my girls who threw themselves into my outstretched arms to be held. However, I noticed my belt beeping in the manner that told me that Anzu had transformed and flew off.

I walked over to and took out my compact to watch Anzu's signal and soon she approached another signal: Blade.

Anzu's POV

I had wanted to get a hug from Daddy, but he wasn't in the room with Mama. Running back to my room, I pulled out my compact and transformed into Celestial Blast and took off to find him. I soon spotted him in the distance while flying over the city when he came to a rest atop the Observation Tower and I soon touched down behind him.

"Nani are you doing here; you're supposed to be at home where it's safe" he asked of me firmly.

"I know, but when we went to your room to get some hugs, you weren't there and…I wanted a hug from you" I told him though I knew I was in trouble.

"Did you tell your Mama?" he asked of me in a gentler tone.

"Iie, I was going to, but Suzuko and Akahana were keeping her preoccupied" I answered honestly, though I couldn't help tearing up since I still wanted a hug from him but he wasn't offering.

"Come here" he said as he knelt down and I ran into his arms to be clutched tightly to him.

"I'm sorry for disobeying you and Mama" I apologized to him.

"Well, to be honest, I think I lost track of nani is more important right now and that's you and your shimai-tachi. So let's go home and get some much needed sleep" Daddy offered and I nodded my head as we flew back home.

Momoko's POV

I was curled up with Suzuko and Akahana when Luke came home with Anzu in his arms. I glanced up to watch as he undressed Anzu before removing most of his own clothes and they both soon joined us in turning in for the night; Akahana on my left, Suzuko between me and Luke, and Anzu on her father's right.

Kanojo's POV

Kare and I kept our heads low as we watched the master glaring out the window in pure hate. An idea soon came to the master and slowly he began to smile, then to chuckle, and then broke out laughing maniacally.

"Those pathetic humans rely on each other, their children, and their own town for love and strength, but on the morrow, we shall see just how powerful they really are when they don't have their town's love to empower them" the master said with a devious smile and both Kare and I sent one another questioning looks. "Take your rest, for tomorrow we attack the hearts of the townspeople."

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><p><strong>Carly: I hope you get a toothache, Kaosu!<strong>

**TCW: Take it easy, Carly-chan; he'll get his in the end.**

**Carly: Right; so I can only imagine nani is in store for the next chapter.**

**Next time…**

**Kaarii: It's all of us against the people of Tokyo.**

**Kaoru: This doesn't bode well for us.**

**TCW: All this and still more to come.**

**Carly and Momoko: Just be sure to leave us some nice reviews while you wait.**

**Kikin – Famine**

**Kotaishi – Prince**

**Owari – Death**

**Senso – War**


	78. LoveHate Relationship

**Arigato all for the great reviews and I apologize for making you all wait for so long. But now, without further ado, let's get on with the story as our heroes must learn how to deal with a…**

* * *

><p><strong>Love-Hate Relationship<strong>

Luke and I awoke the following morning to find the girls missing from our bed but the sounds of their footfalls as they were getting dressed could be heard coming from their rooms. Sitting up and stretching out, we climbed out of bed and also began getting dressed.

I was the first one out of the room as I went to prepare breakfast while Luke made the bed. Heading off towards the daidokoro, I soon found the girls standing at the door to the backyard and looking around strangely when I, too, felt the ominous hint of death in the air.

"Close the door, girls" Luke instructed them and they obediently closed the door as they turned to look at him with concern in their eyes.

"You felt it then?" I asked of him.

"Hai" he replied simply. "I'm going to double check all of the locks on the house."

"We'll help" offered the girls as they instantly began to dash around to ensure all of the doors were well locked.

Kaarii's POV

I awoke the next morning and headed off towards the daidokoro to begin fixing breakfast for my sleeping family when I was soon met by Kaede coming out of the oteari.

"You're up a bit early" I told her as she followed me to the daidokoro.

"I needed to potty" she replied simply, though there was something else in her voice that said there was more to it than just that.

"Nani is wrong?" I asked of her as she sat down at the table.

"I woke up this morning and started to open my window when I got this really, _really_ bad feeling so I closed it right back up.

Nodding my head, I decided that getting dressed was a bit more important at this time than fixing breakfast, so we returned to our rooms. Hikari soon came skipping out of her room, already dressed, and soon went down to the main floor with Sherbet and Clemintina tagging along with her.

She soon came back sulking and told me simply, "T.V.'s broke."

"The T.V.'s broke; but it's only a few years old" I replied in disbelief.

"I don't think it's broken, but for some reason we're not getting any reception" Hotaka said as he indicated the television set as he was trying to get Hikari's morning cartoons turned on for her.

"The phone's dead, too" Josh added as he poked his head out of the Pâtissière's daidokoro.

Heading for my office, I took out some receipts and checked them when I said, "Well, that shouldn't happening; I paid the cable and phone bills."

That was when we all heard Kaede let out a blood-curdling scream from the Pâtissière's dining room. Dashing into the room, we all saw that someone had pelted the windows with tomatoes and red paint so that it looked almost like blood.

"Close the blinds" I told her firmly and she did as I told her. "I can't believe that we'd run into such hate-crimes here in Nihon."

Pulling out my compact, I was relieved to see that they were still working properly when I called up the others.

"And you shouldn't have to put up with it! Ours is a society that doesn't support such stupidity and anyone who tries to show a support to such hate-groups is an embarrassment to us all" Momoko said in anger.

"We'll come see nani we can do to help and clean up; those same people may have also cut your cable and phone lines" Luke told us.

"Domo arigato, Luke-kun; right now I've got my hands full with two very scared little girls and angry menfolk" I replied before hanging up and taking our kids back upstairs where we hoped it would be safer.

Kuriko's POV

Awakened by the sound of a jackhammer, I ran up the stairs to find two large cranes on the ground above the subterranean lab and a man with a jackhammer trying to chisel into the roof with a few sticks of dynamite nearby. Ducking back down and sealing the four hatches, I ran back down the stairs to find Ken holding Kumiko in his arms and looking up at me in concern.

"There are two cranes and a guy with a jackhammer trying to chisel into the roof; I think he intends to drop load the roof with dynamite to blow us up!" I told Ken with tears of concern in my eyes.

"It's a good thing the roof is made of six-inch sheets of titanium then" Ken replied with a nervous smile.

"I'm calling Oneechan" I reported as I pulled out my compact and called up Momoko to report to her nani was happening.

"Blade's gone off to help Kaarii with some hate-crime issues, but I'll let him know and be over there with my girls as soon as possible" Momoko told me and we soon hung up.

Kaoru's POV

I was doing my early morning walk through the aquarium, checking to make sure all marine life was doing appropriately and that the machinery was still working when I came upon one of the reef exhibits and gave pause to notice that the reef sharks were behaving oddly. They were suddenly engulfed by a black light and began to morph into humanoid creatures and all turned to stare at me hungrily.

"Kuso" I exclaimed as I turned and took off running just as the creatures began to jump out of their tanks as many more creatures began leaping from their tanks to pursue me.

"Green Pearl Voice" I called out as I transformed into my alternate form and used the propellant in my shoes to launch and fly through the air to return to the condo.

"Kaoru, why on earth are you in your Mermaid Z form?" Rikiya asked in confusion once I had slammed the door shut behind me.

The head of an axe crashed through the door above my head and I replied, "Does that answer your question?!"

"Girls, transform!" Rikiya shouted back as our girls ran into the room and the four of them transformed in front of me.

"Pink Pearl Voice" "Blue Pearl Voice" "Purple Pearl Voice" "Panthalessa Green" they all called out as they transformed and now each prepared for battle. I dashed over to stand with my family just as the door was smash through and many of our attackers began to enter.

"Perhaps we should take this outside" Lucia suggested and we all ran towards the door to the deck and dove off into the sea before running towards shore.

"I'm calling Kaito" Lucia reported and I nodded my head in agreement; we'd have a better chance of surviving with more warriors on our side.

Miyako's POV

I was outside beginning to hang up the laundry when I heard the sound of muffled voices and turned to see many people walking towards me in a zombie-like state of mind and all with looks of aggression on their faces.

"Gomen nasai, but we're closed today" I told them in hopes of getting them to leave.

"Kill the Powerpuffs Z" said one and was soon followed by the others repeating it.

"N-Nani makes you think I'm a Powerpuff?" I asked nervously as I backed up against one of the poles that strung up the clothesline.

"Kill the Powerpuffs Z" the group repeated a bit more loudly.

"Spiking Strike" a familiar voice called from overhead as a red miniature buster sword pierced the ground and scattered those approaching me.

I glanced up and saw Blossom overhead with two of her girls beside her as she pulled back on the line her sword was attached to.

I then turned to notice Bright dipping down to peer into the window to the boys' room and watched as her cheeks turned bright red while she clamped a hand over her eyes before yelling into the window, "Get your clothes on, guys! We're needed at the lab!"

"Orbital Bubbles" I called out and soon after transforming, tossed the laundry basket back into the house as Baron and our boys followed suit, though the boys were also blushing rather brightly.

We then joined Blossom and her girls as I asked of her, "Where's Blade?"

"He went to assist Kaarii. It appears some narrow-minded baka-tachi decided to paint some evil symbols upon her shop windows" she replied.

"We expect to be allowed to even the score, Bright-chan" I then heard Blast say.

"Believe me, if I had known you all were going to be naked, I wouldn't have looked" Bright shot back.

"We still wish to even the score" Bison replied in annoyance.

"If we survive and I can convince Blade to allow it, I'll see nani I can do to oblige your requests, boys" Blossom replied much to my astonishment.

"Mama, you can't be serious?!" the girls shouted in disbelief.

"I was referring to Bright alone; if she had listened to me and just called in through the back door, then it wouldn't have happened" Blossom explained and I could see tears of embarrassment welling up into Bright's eyes.

"More to the point, nani is happening at the lab that Ken needs us there?" Baron asked bringing us all back to the more important issue.

Blossom quickly explained the situation to them and we all increased our speed, though Bright remained a fair distance behind us.

Ami's POV

"Mom, come quick!" I heard Hyosuke call to me from the kitchen.

"Nani, nani is it!" I called back to him as I entered his room and wrapped my arms around him.

"Down there; someone threw tomatoes and red paint at Kaarii-san's store windows" he replied and I looked down to see them and gasped in shock.

"Now that's not very nice; who in their right mind would waste good vegetables and paint upon a bakery's windows?" Pazu asked innocently.

I then noticed Hyosuke pick up his watch and strapped it to his wrist before picking up his power-belt when I said to Pazu, "I think Hyosuke has the right idea."

"I'll have the other two get ready" Pazu replied before leaving out Hyosuke's bedroom door.

"I don't know how much help Black Forest Cake is going to be in this" I quietly noted to Hyosuke.

"I don't think he can either, but I'm sure there's something Blaze can do" he replied as he extracted his buckle-phone and we then dashed into the main room to begin our transformations, "Thunder Boomer" "Tama Berry" "Fiery Blaze" "Icy Blizzard" "Fluttering Breeze."

Flying out of our apartment, we soon met up with Blade as he was standing by a fire hydrant and he said, "Excellent timing; Breeze, I need a favor of you."

"Hai, Blade-sama" Breeze replied though a bit nervously.

"Make that two favors: First, I want you to direct a strong gust of wind into the water stream and wash the windows off" Blade instructed her as he loosened the cap on the hydrant and Breeze did as she was told with me and Boomer encouraging her. When done, Blade retightened the cap and cut the water back off while the rest of us praised her appropriately.

"And second, you can drop that Blade-sama stuff and just refer to me as Ojisan" Blade told her as he scooped her up and gave Breeze a big hug.

Just then, the door to the bakery opened and out stepped Bridgette, Bash, Buttercup, and Bitter who was holding Bonbon in his arms as Bridgette expressed, "Domo arigato for getting rid of that gunk."

"It was all Breeze here who did the heaviest work" Blade said, giving little Breeze most of the credit.

"Only under your instruction, Ojisan" Breeze replied honestly.

"You may wish to set all of the credit-sharing and expressions of appreciation aside for a moment; we've got company and they don't look the least bit friendly" Buttercup said as she took up a defensive stance in preparation for a fight.

"Kill the Powerpuffs Z" said a large group of people as they were approaching us.

"Should we stand and fight?" Bash asked of Blade.

"We have bigger issues to tend to at the lab right now" I replied as I closed my compact after speaking with Blossom.

"Nani is going on at the lab?" Bash asked.

"Some people are trying to blow it up" I answered and everyone sent me a look of shock.

"Let's go then" Blade instructed us.

"Nani about those guys?" asked Bonbon nervously.

"Thunder Ball" Boomer said as he shot a ball of energy into the encroaching crowd and shocking them all so that they fell to the ground in pain.

Since we were in the clear for the time being, we took the opportunity to fly off towards the lab to see nani we could do to offer them some help.

When we arrived we all gave pause to notice the police on the ground below with abnormally heavy artillery pointed at Blossom, her children, Miyako, and her family as they were kneeling upon the ground with their hands behind their heads. One man was walking around them when he approached behind Blossom and struck her with a nani looked like a police baton and we could all sense the anger and rage that was emanating from Blade.

It was the few moments like this that I actually feared my own oniisan as I watched him become so angry that he could iie longer control himself and quite literally obliterated four tanks, ten squad cars, two tractors, and a massive crane in a matter of three minutes and now stood glaring hatefully at the officer who had struck Blossom.

"Kill the Powerpuff Girls" the officer said as he pulled out his revolver and pulled the hammer back.

Blade shot forward and belted him in the chest with a glowing fist, but the gun still went off and struck Blade in the shoulder.

"Blade" "Daddy" "Luke" we all shouted out in concern as we surrounded him.

"Nani" Blade asked of us as he took up Blossom and clutched her tightly in his arms.

"There's iie entry wound" Bridgette said in shock as she pulled away nani appeared to be a metal coin from his vest.

Blade seemed to pay her iie mind as he checked Blossom over to see how badly she was injured; just a mild bruise.

"I'm okay, Luke-chan" Blossom told him as he was wrapping his arms around her once again and shedding a few tears.

"Hey, you all may wish to join us down below before the rest of Tokyo gets here" Kuriko called to us and we all soon followed, though Blade continued to hold Blossom close to him.

Kuriko directed Luke and Momoko to a private room while the rest of us sat around trying to figure out nani was going on.

"Bad enough to spatter my shop's windows with rotten tomatoes and red paint, but to try and blow up the lab; this is getting ridiculous" Kaarii said in frustration.

"Not to mention their attempt on Miyako-chan" Takaaki noted as he snuggled Miyako as she was sitting in his lap.

"Has anyone heard from Kaoru or Isamu?" I asked in concern.

"We're still trying to contact them" Ken reported with an angry sigh.

"You know, it almost sounds as though those who appreciate and love us now hate us" noted Hikari aloud.

Luke and Momoko soon joined us, though they seemed to be a dripping with perspiration and Momoko was trying to brush her hair.

"Nice of you two to decide to join us" I said with a giggle as I knew nani they had been up to.

"Why don't you tell them nani you just figured out, Hikari-chan" suggested Josh, but Hikari just looked up at them with a mild fear in her eyes.

"It's alright, Hikari-chan; they're not going to bite you" Sherbet said as she left from Josh's pocket and landed upon Luke's shoulder.

"I said that it seems as though the people who appreciate and love us now hate us" Hikari replied hesitantly.

"You know, Hikari-chan, I was just thinking the same thing" Momoko said as she knelt down and took Hikari into her arms to hug her.

"So did the Queen finally reprieve you two from your annual festivities?" Luke asked of Sherbet as he massaged her shoulders with only his thumbs and index fingers.

"Hai, Armstrong-san, though it would seem as though we should have never left" Clemintina replied with an exasperated sigh.

"That's not important right now. How are we going to contend with our current situation?" Miyako asked in concern.

"The lab's too big and heavy to be moved, so for the time being, we're safe. But with the people of Tokyo out hunting for us, we have iie idea as to how long we will remain safe" Kuriko informed us.

"To say little of nani Kaosu may decide to do to the people so as to lure us out of hiding" Ken added.

Suddenly there was a desperate beating on the main access hatch and we peered into the security camera to see Kaoru, Isamu, and their families trying to fight off a bunch of monsters while their little ones were beating on the hatch to get us to help.

"Takaaki, Kaarii, you're with me; the rest of you stay here and prepare to receive six scared children and possibly injured teammates" Luke instructed all of us and we agreed while watching the three of them transform.

Kaarii's POV

"Feminine Bridgette" "Corona Baron "Solar Blade" we all said as we transformed and soon left out of the hatch just as Kaoru's girls and Isamu's boys tumbled inside to the awaiting arms of their families and friends.

"Corona Blade" Baron shouted as he threw his giant star-shuriken into the attacking crowd and decimated many of the monsters so that they fell, unmoving, to the ground.

"Katana Dance" I called out as I gathered energy into the blades of my katana-tachi and began swirling them around and dancing about, smacking many more of the creatures to the ground.

"Solar Claws" Blade called out as he began slashing at many of the monsters with his claws as they were glowing with solar energy and knocking them to the ground.

"Nice of you to join the fight, Oniichan" Kaoru bid him as he succeeded in knocking down a bunch of monsters that were trying to pin her down.

"I'd have been there sooner if you had called me" Blade replied as he retracted his claws and pulled his sword. "Crescent Blade" he called as we had succeeded in knocking enough monsters down for him to use his low ranged-attack and knocking even more of the beasts down.

"Katana-tachi of Fury, Bridgette Finish" I called out as I gathered much energy together in my swords and released a massive katana of energy flying into the remaining monsters where it exploded on contact and knocked out the rest of our opponents

Blade's POV

I stood there watching Bridgette cut loose an attack that I hadn't seen her use before when I realized that it wasn't without its own repercussions; Bridgette collapsed to the ground, her energy spent and seemed to be having a bit of difficulty maintaining her heroine form as she was kneeling on the ground.

"Come on, Bridgette-chan; you've had enough for one day" I told her gently as I took her up in my arms.

"Hai, Oniisan" she muttered tiredly as we retreated back into the lab.

Josh was understandably concerned when I entered the lab with Bridgette in my arms, but Isamu hushed while quietly telling him that she was asleep.

"Is Mama going to be alright?" Hikari asked of me and I turned to look down into her large, concern-filled eyes.

"Hai, she just needs a nap right now; why don't you join and snuggle up with her" I suggested as I started to head off to the infirmary and she tagged along.

Setting her down onto a bed, I took her compact and returned her to normal before removing her belt and shoes while Josh removed Hikari's shoes so that she could join her mother in taking a nap.

"Arigato, Blade-kun" Josh expressed to me once he had clicked the light off and quietly closed the door behind him.

"Doitashimashite, Josh-kun" I replied as I reverted back to my street form and we headed back to the main lounge of the lab where we found Kaoru and Isamu snuggled up with their little ones and taking their own naps.

Momoko's POV

Everyone had awakened by two that afternoon and so we now sat around the meeting table while letting the children play together in the lounge. It was the one thing I had always appreciated; while so many had insisted that we use a rectangular table, Luke had insisted upon a round one.

"King Arthur used a round table as it displayed equality between himself and his knights" Luke had reasoned and we girls were also allowed a place at the table to the right our menfolk.

Predominantly we considered Luke to be the leader of our team, but this way we all still felt equal.

"So here's the ultimate question: Nani is our next move?" Ami asked as we all sat down at the table.

"One thing's for certain, we can't fight back without hurting our loved ones" Miyako replied honestly.

"By now Kaosu's realized that he's driven us into hiding" Ken stated simply.

"So he'll get confident and lower his guard thus rendering him vulnerable to attack" Pazu surmised hopefully.

"I don't think so; he's more than likely using this as the opportunity he needs to empower himself even further so as to become stronger and thus increase his chances of successfully defeated us" Kanta replied to his kyodai.

"And we certainly can't use the D.Y.N.A.M.O. Z to fight against the citizens" Kaarii said with a frustrated sigh.

"Iie, but then maybe we won't have to" Rikiya replied.

"I agree with Rikiya-kun; we should find some way to take the high ground so that we can see our opponents better so as to make a stronger attack" agreed Takaaki.

"Well one thing's for certain: Iie matter how much they wish to attack us with lethal force, we can't return in kind" I noted to the others.

"That almost sounds like an oxymoron, but I see nani you're saying, Oneechan" Isamu replied and the others murmured in agreement.

"Here's an idea: Why don't we find that one little Phantom Thief use the incantation she knows to remove the shadow creatures from their victims? She can cause the demons to leave out of their hosts while we standby to protect her" offered Kuriko helpfully.

"Because for all we know, she may also be out there hunting for us and even if she isn't, we don't need to be bringing children into our fight" Kaoru replied.

"Well we most certainly can't fight today; it's already late and night will be upon us before long" Josh remarked, though he seemed a bit nervous since having heard Kuriko make mention of the one young girl we had rescued not all that long ago.

"To say little for the fact that it's going to bard to fight on empty stomachs" Miyako said with a blush after her own tummy made a rather audible growl.

With a light chuckle, we ended our conference while letting Kaarii, Josh, and Kuriko head off to the daidokoro; Kaarii and Kuriko fixed dinner, and Josh made dessert.

After a dinner of rice, orange chicken, ramen, broccoli, carrots, chicken sushi, and rolls, the dishes were washed and we all headed off to get cleaned up in the large furoba that was divided with the girls' side on the right while the boys' side was on the left. Though the whole time, I couldn't help but wonder if I should use this as the opportunity to allow Miyako's boys to level the playing field since Suzuko, albeit accidentally, got a peep at them.

"Don't worry about it, Momoko-chan; they've seen me plenty of times" Miyako told me and so I agreed to dismiss this concern.

Clean, dried, and dressed in our pajamas and/or nightgowns, we all gathered at the table once more to enjoy dessert of strawberry cake, marshmallow icing with green tea powder sprinkled on top chased with chamomile tea for the adults and milk for the children. We then brushed out teeth and put the children down for the night as a giant sleepover in the playroom. As for us adults, we all snuck off to our own bedrooms where we decided to share our love with our marriage mates before going to sleep.

Kaarii and Kuriko awoke early the following morning and gently woke us with the inviting aroma of eggs, pancakes, waffles, and coffee filling the air. We all soon returned to the table where we enjoyed breakfast and drank coffee, though the children drank either orange juice, apple juice, or milk.

"It's almost six in the morning" Kuriko noted to us and we all took notice of the time: ten minutes till we had to leave and prepare for battle.

"Just put the dishes in the dishwasher; I'll run it when…if we return" Kuriko said as she began gathering up some of the dishes and carried them to the large industrial machine.

"We'll come back, Kuriko-chan; this is mostly us against the people of Tokyo" I noted to her as we shared a brief hug.

We washed the children's hands and faces of syrup and then we all made ready to transform.

"Solar Blade" "Stellar Blossom" "Nebular Bright" "Celestial Burst" "Lunar Butterfly" "Corona Baron" "Orbital Bubbles" "Asteroid Blast" "Meteoric Bison" "Planetary Beetle" "Cosmicpuffs Z" we started the transformations.

"Super Bash" "Feminine Bridgette" "Powered Bitter" "Hyper Buttercup" "Rolling Bonbon" "Thunder Boomer" "Tama Berry" "Fierce Blaze" "Icy Blizzard" "Fluttering Breeze" "Tempestuous Brain" "Blazing Bullet" "Kinetic Byte" "Starry Bloom" "Powerpuffs Z" the transformations continued.

"Green Pearl Voice" "Lime Pearl Voice" "Pink Pearl Voice" "Blue Pearl Voice" "Purple Pearl Voice" "Powerpuff Mermaids Z" "Panthalessa White" "Panthalessa Green" "Panthalessa Red" "Panthalessa Indigo" "Panthalessa Plum" "Panthalessa Boys Z" the transformations ended.

"And to think we originally started off as just three girls" I noted to Blade as I finished counting the lot of us.

"I was just thinking the same thing" Bubbles replied with a giggle.

"Un, well at least you were all part of the same team then" Berry grumbled, still not happy that we were now basically three separate ones.

"Powerpuff Alliance Z" offered Isamu to Berry who turned and brightened at the thought.

"It does have a good ring to it" I said to Blade.

"Then shall we agree upon it?" Baron asked of us.

"Very well then, from now on we shall together be known as…" Blade began as we all gathered together to strike a pose as we all said, "Powerpuff Alliance Z!"

We left soon afterwards and headed for the top of the Observation Tower to watch as the sun began to rise up over the horizon. We could all feel the tension amongst ourselves and the hatred that was being direct at us from the shadow demons that inhabited the people of Tokyo.

"You know, as I think about it, does anyone else find it strange that we haven't once heard from Mayor Bellum in all of these past events?" Kaoru asked of us.

"So that's where they're hiding" I then said in realization.

"We'll address them later, right now, we've another battle to contend with" Blade said as he indicated the people of Tokyo approaching with various armaments at their disposal.

"Time for a slight change of uniform" Brain announced as he sprayed us with a strange substance and we soon all stood wearing jackets and pants instead of our usual uniforms.

"Can you give us a quick overview, Brain?" Blade inquired.

"Nanites: micro robots that are now surrounding us with a light weight armor that's bullet-proof so as to protect us. The only drawback is that neither you nor Bright are going to be able to use your solar attacks without running the risk of destroying them and they won't last but more than four hours in the sunlight" Brain informed us and we then realized just how quickly we would have to dispense the citizens of their demons.

"There's always a catch" Bridgette said with a sigh until a bullet ricocheted off of her arm and we all glanced down to see someone pointing a gun at us.

"The first shot has been made by the enemy; let's go" Blade said and we all jumped down to the ground, letting Bridgette take out her would-be hit-man with the flat side of her katana.

"Remember: non-lethal attacks only; we don't want any bloodshed on our parts" Bubbles quickly reminded us as we prepared to charge in towards our opponents.

"Reverse Blade Twirl" I shouted as I began to twirl my blade over my head in the opposite direction than I normally would as I gradually let out a bit more length of my swords' lanyard before tossing it forward where it exploded into the ground and thus opened a pathway for Blade, Baron, and Bridgette to charge in.

"Reverse Blade Dance" Bridgette called out as she once again performed her dance with her swords reversed so as not to use the cutting edges as she knocked many people out.

"Piercing Light" Blade said as he released a beam of energy into a group that was charging towards him.

"I'm surprised you're not doing a Blade Dance of your own" I noted to Blade as I knelt down beside him.

"Kind of hard to do when you've got a two-edged sword" Blade noted to me before spinning and raising his sword as he called out, "Shield Blade" and thus blocked some snipers from shooting at us.

"Crescent Blade" we then heard Bright say as she mimicked her father's attack and sent a crescent-shaped blade of energy into the snipers and knocked them out.

"Raspberry Ricochet" Berry said as she turned her ball black and spiked it into the crowd so that it began bouncing and ricocheting off of peoples' heads, chests, and backs before returning to her hands as those struck fell unconscious to the ground.

"Graviton Drive" we all heard a voice say from beside us and turned to watch as Buttercup slammed her hammer into the ground and sent a wave of energy shooting through the concrete until it reached another crowd of people and exploded, sending them all flying up into the air only to fall back down upon even more people, knocking them all out. "Now that's nani I call killing two mice with one trap."

"I remember when I could do that" I heard Kaoru say from behind me.

"I thought it the phrase was 'killing two birds with one stone'" noted Bitter.

"Un, well I like birds; it's mice that I hate" Buttercup replied with a visible shudder of disgust.

"I think you people need to chill out" Blizzard then said as he released a blast of icy energy into an encroaching crowd and thus froze them in place; little Breeze giggled from behind him.

"Bullet Kick" I then heard Bullet say as she was using an assortment of kicks to take on another crowd of people until she kicked a sumo wrestler who caught her leg and brought it hand down hard upon her knee and causing her to scream out in pain; we all heard an audible snap as he busted her knee.

"Brain, get her back to the lab; she can't fight like this!" Blade shouted as I was ran up towards the sumo wrestler and said, "Pommel Strike" as I slammed the pommel of my sword into his stomach and released a blast of energy which sent him colliding into the side of a building.

"We should have set up an Evac. Team" Brain said as he took his sleeping wife into his arms and noticed that she was on the verge of shock.

"Brain, over here!" we heard a familiar voice shout out and we turned to see the Professor behind the wheel of his van and his wife at the sliding side-door and beckoning to us.

"Hey, when you guys decide to rejoin the battle, we'd be most appreciative" Isamu called out as she was trying to contend with a crowd that was surrounding her.

"Shuriken Blast" "Lunar Beam" both Bloom and Butterfly said as they released energy into the crowd that had been surrounding Isamu.

"Domo arigato, you two" Isamu said with a smile.

"Doitashimashite, Obachan" the two girls said before dashing off to return to the battle.

"Fan Dance" Lucia said as she began to attack with her battle fans and knocking many people out in the process as she danced around with her fans while also being sure to keep her back covered with whichever fan she wasn't attacking with.

"Quasar Blast" Burst as she crossed her arms while releasing two orbs of energy into a group of girls around her age were charging forward with batons in her hands and sent them sprawling, unconscious.

A group of bulldozers began to approach and we all prepared to fight when they just suddenly disappeared into a hole that appeared out of nowhere. The men who had been driving them climbed out and began running towards us with an assortment of implements so attack us with until their feet sank into the asphalt and thus held them in place.

"If you can't stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen" Blaze said and little Breeze giggled again.

"You've got to admit, her kyodai-tachi really know how to entertain her" Berry noted in praise of her boys' treatment of their shimai.

Bridgette soon returned to stand beside me when she saw someone run up to towards Bonbon and causing both of them to panic until Bonbon said, "Gooey Caramel" as she removed a small ball from a pouch upon her side and threw it at the guy, spattering him with a caramel and holding him in place.

"Good job, Bonbon" Bitter said as he lighted to his shimai's side and gave her a comforting and encouraging hug.

"And Bitter really knows how to bolster Bonbon's self-esteem" Bridgette said with a smile to me.

A crane with a wrecking ball attached to it soon approached and began to slowly swing the massive iron ball around until it built up enough momentum to start striking us down with, successfully knocking Bash into the wall of a building; another teammate was out of the battle.

The ball was now heading for Bright when she pulled out her buster keyblade and opened a portal which the ball flew through and soon came falling down atop the crane and smashing its cab flat just as the operator jumped clear.

"Nani is next; a tank?" asked Bright in exasperation only for us all to turn as the crane exploded and we saw a tank approaching. "Me and my big mouth" she then said as she face-palmed herself when we all noticed that our armor was disintegrating off of us.

It was the last of our heavy opposition and as it brought us into its sights, we knew this could very well be the end.

"Stellar Buzz Saw" we heard Baron say as he flung his giant shuriken towards the monstrous vehicle and split it in half before returning to Baron's outstretched hand. The tank made a sputter, coughed, and with a loud thud, fell into two pieces.

"So much for our armor" I noted to the others as we prepared for the worst.

"Super Solar Flare, Father/Daughter Finish" we then heard two voices say as Blade and Bright cut loose a joined attack of Solar Flare and knocked out the last of our opponents before touching down behind us, Bright curled up against her father and sleeping as she had spent the last of her energy.

Buttercup's POV

"I speak to the shadow demon within; release your prisoners…" I started to say when I got this dark sense that Kaosu was right behind me.

'_Continue your incantation and I shall take personal delight in ripping your heart out of your chest_' said a deep, demonic voice that was unmistakably Kaosu's.

"…and return for your master's hand" I finished and dropped to my knees as beads of sweat dripped from my face and hair.

"Strange, I don't remember the incantation going that way and you forgot to make mention of their releasing of the energies that they've collected" Blaze whispered into my ear.

Mama then came running up and dropped down in front of me to place her hand against my forehead and began to wipe the perspiration away as she asked of me, "Are you alright, Buttercup-chan?"

Blossom's POV

"I'll come with you, Bridgette-chan" I told her and she nodded her head to me as Blade placed Bright's sleeping body into my arms.

Letting the children lead the way, Bridgette and I followed them side by side as she clutched Buttercup to her chest while I held Bright to mine.

While letting the children take a much needed nap, Bridgette and I returned to the lounge where Kuriko sat with her knee braced and bandaged while watching the television reports as they came in, "_According to our sources, the reason iie one can remember or recall the last two days is due to a mass concussion wave caused when a strange meteorite entered the atmosphere and exploded high over the city in the middle of the night. The only ones unaffected by said event were the members of the Powerpuff Alliance Z._"

"Sounds as though the others were able to clear things up well enough" Bridgette noted to me with a sigh.

"All of which may merely annoy Kaosu enough to decide to stop hiding and finally come out into the open" Ken said as he unlocked the main hatch so as to allow the others to return.

When Blade came in, he sent Kuriko a look of concern before approaching her and placing his hands upon her leg as he said, "Healing Hand." Her leg was wrapped in a yellow light and when the light had dissipated, she was able to stand back up and put her full weight upon it.

"Arigato, Blade" Kuriko expressed to him appreciatively with a polite bow.

We all sat back down at the round conference table where we noticed P.P.A.Z had been emblazoned into the table while we were gone.

"I guess this makes our new team name official" I said with a smile to my friends and family members.

"More to the point, Kaede changed the incantation at the last second; do you have any idea why, Bridgette-chan?" Blade asked of her.

"Not yet, but I intend to ask her about it when she awakens from her nap" Bridgette replied.

"So the people are now convinced that this was just a mere fluke event and are still oblivious to the fact that Kaosu, Kanojo, and Kare are the real ones who are at fault. So now nani do we do; Kaosu is sure to be angered by this turn of events" Bubbles then posed to the rest of us.

"It sounds to me like we're back to letting him make the first move" Kaoru said with a frustrated huff.

"Not necessarily" Baron replied.

"We now know where they're hiding, thanks to an observation you made, Kaoru-chan" Blade informed us.

"I propose that we use the new D.Y.N.A.M.O. Z's to make a fly-over of City Hall to show Kaosu just nani we're capable of and to show him that we know where he's hiding" offered Brain determinedly.

"Draw him out so as to attack us so that we can attempt to destroy him; are we really prepared to make such a sign of bravado?" asked Berry in concern.

"It's either that or wait until he can find a way to take us down" Isamu returned.

"Let's remember that we're an alliance now; I say we put it to a vote" Bash said.

"Those in favor of taking the fight to Kaosu; raise your hands" Rikiya said and, though a bit uncertain from some, all raised their hands.

The children soon awoke and all but Kaede raised her hand so that Bridgette asked of her, "Why the uncertainty, Kaede-chan?"

"Kaosu was right there on the battle field the whole time. When I was about to use the incantation to destroy the shadow demons, he threatened to rip my heart out if I finished it any other way than nani he wanted" Kaede confessed before she began sobbing into her hands.

"All the more reason to take this fight to him" Blade said and I nodded my head in agreement.

"Everyone get cleaned up; we attack tomorrow" Baron announced and we all reverted back to our street forms before heading off to the furoba to get washed up before sitting down to dinner.

We then turned in for the night, snuggling up with our little ones as we felt that this may very well be the last time we would ever be able to hold them again.

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><p><strong>Carly: I think we know what's to happen in the next chapter.<strong>

**TCW: I'm sure of that.**

**Next time…**

**Momoko: We're taking the fight to Kaosu.**

**Carly: Just be sure to leave us some nice reviews while you wait!**

**Author's Note: As a reminder, since Kaoru's becoming a mermaid, she no longer is known as Buttercup. The name has since been passed on to Kaarii's daughter Kaede. Thank you. – The Cat Whispurrer**

**Okay, so it has occurred to me that some of you may be a bit confused as to who's who amongst the children, so allow me to clarify them for you to the best of my ability:**

Momoko/Blossom's & Luke/Blade's children:

Suzuko/Nebular Bright

Akahana/Lunar Butterfly

Anzu/Celestial Burst

Miyako/Bubbles' & Takaaki/Baron's children:

Tomohiro/Asteroid Blast

Eri/Meteoric Bison

Youga/ Planetary Beetle

Kuriko/Bullet's & Ken/Tempestuous Brain's children:

Kouji/Kinetic Byte

Kumiko/Starry Bloom

Kaarii/Bridgette's & Josh/Bash's children:

Kaede/Hyper Buttercup (PPGZ)/Kaitou Pink Angel Cake (Phantom Thief)

Hikari/Rolling Bonbon

Hotaka/Powered Bitter

Ami/Berry's & Pazu/Boomer's children:

Hyosuke/Fierce Blaze (PPBZ)/Kaitou Black Forest Cake (Phantom Thief)

Benjirou/Icy Blizzard

Chikako/Fluttering Breeze

**The following characters are known simply as themselves no matter which form they're in:**

Kaoru's (Green Mermaid) & Rikiya's (White Panthalessa) children:

Lucia (Pink Mermaid)

Rina (Blue Mermaid)

Kaori (Purple Mermaid

Isamu's (Lime Mermaid) & Kanta's (Green Panthalessa) children:

Kaito (Red Panthalessa)

Makoto (Indigo Panthalessa)

Sakiya (Plum Panthalessa)

**I hope this clarifies things for all of you. – TCW**


	79. Final Battle

**Thanks again for the great reviews, friends! And now let's get ready to join our friends as they get ready to meet Kaosu, Kare, and Kanojo in one…**

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><p><strong>Final Battle<strong>

We all diligently went back over the controls of the D.Y.N.A.M.O. Z's together to ensure we all understood how to operate the individual parts, the three robots, and how they could all combine together to form D.Y.N.A.M.O. Z Ultima.

"…needless to say, it's not an easy feat, but as long as you work together, you should be able to pull it off" the Professor ended his briefing.

"Let's just hope it's enough to defeat Kaosu" Bubbles said.

"That's about all we can do is to hope" noted Berry.

"Hai, well just remember nani is at stake here" added Baron determinedly.

"You're right, Baron; and for that reason alone, let's make absolutely certain that we're all ready to do this" I said as I turned to Blade.

"This is our final battle against Kaosu, Kare, and Kanojo. It's all or nothing with this one so let's make sure we're ready to put it all on the line. It's them or us; lives are at stake and there's a strong chance that some of us, if any of us, may not survive this fight. So let us all state our piece now…including the children" Blade shared and we all had to understand nani it was that was being asked of us.

"If this battle is lost, we may not have a world to call home anymore" little Bonbon noted to us.

"That's right, Bonbon, and that's why I want to make sure everyone is ready to put their lives on the line for this" Blade replied.

"Then I'm in" she said as she placed a card with her name upon it on the table.

Steadily many more cards were added though there was a few who were a bit hesitant to place their cards onto the stack. We all looked to them in understanding and sympathy but finally they added their cards, too.

We all then turned and headed into the hanger while leaving Akira and the Professor to pick up the cards and proceeded to put our names into his computer which would note that we sacrificed our lives in an effort to save the world.

In truth, we were all scared of the upcoming events, but we knew that if we didn't act now, then Kaosu would become so powerful and omnipotent that we would eventually be killed by him anyway.

"Opening the hangar" Brain's voice cut through the radio and thus bringing to light just nani it was we had agreed to: Self-Sacrifice or Enslavement and Death.

"Hangar doors are open" Bullet informed us.

"Is everybody ready?" Baron asked of us.

"Roger" we all replied unanimously.

"Then let's do this; activate thrusters" Blade instructed us and we all lit our vessels' thrusters and began to slowly lift up out of the hanger.

"Activate your auto-stabilizer, Bonbon" we all heard Bridgette say as we noticed Bonbon's vessel was wobbling.

"Arigato, Mama" she replied once she'd stabilized her vessel and took up her position in the formation.

"Form D.Y.N.A.M.O. Z's" Blade instructed as we broke up into three groups and formed the three individual robots.

Ours was black and looked like a Powerpuff Boy. Bridgette's team's robot looked like the original D.Y.N.A.M.O. Z. but with brown hair. Kaoru's team looked like a Powerpuff Mermaid.

"Team Aquarius is ready" Kaoru then called in.

"Team Orion is ready" Blade added.

"Team Divinity is ready" Bridgette reported.

"Then let's show Kaosu that we know where he's hiding and that we're ready to call him out" I said as we all turned to prepare to make a fly over of City Hall.

Kaosu's POV

Rising up the following morning, I stopped to revel in the feeling of having finally reached pique energy levels of darkness. Even Kare and Kanojo, as they knelt down behind me respectfully, resonated in fear of me as they realized I was now at virtually full power…if only they knew nani it would take for me to reach maximum levels, but I decided to wait until their essences would truly be necessary.

"Nani would you have us today, Master?" Kanojo asked.

I began to answer her when I was interrupted by a thunderous roar and turned to see a large mechanical man and a large mechanical woman fly over City Hall with another mechanical woman following them, but she gave pause to hold up its left hand to its forehead with its index finger and thumb forming the letter 'L' before continuing after its companions.

"Nani the Hell is that supposed to mean?" I asked in confusion.

"It's a gesture that the mortals use to signify the word 'Loser'" Kare replied with a light chuckle.

"And that amuses you?!" Kanojo asked in astonishment.

"Iie, what amuses me is that those mortals are so confident in themselves that they would wish to challenge the Master to a battle that they shall surely lose" Kare replied.

"Then if they are in that much of a hurry to die, then so be it" Kaosu instructed us as he granted Kanojo leave of her host who fell to the floor as we left out of City Hall to meet our challengers.

Blossom's POV

"Way to sass our opponents, Bridgette-chan" I said as we were continuing to leave away from City Hall.

"Gomen, but I thought a little extra incentive was necessary to get them to follow us" Bridgette replied.

"Hai, but nani if they don't understand the gesture?" asked Kaoru.

"At least it's much more polite of a gesture than the one I was thinking of" Butch replied honestly.

"Better to keep the obscenities to a minimum, we do have children on board" Bubbles reminded us.

"That's why we chose that one" Sherbet replied.

Just then our proximity alarms began to sound and we all looked up to notice the three large entities that were now pursuing us.

"Looks like it worked, Bridgette-chan. Everyone, take evasive action…now!" Blade instructed us and we broke formation so as to take on a different opponent.

Kanojo went after Aquarius, Kare gave pursuit upon Divinity, and we were left to deal with Kaosu personally.

"Heads up; they're coming in fast!" Rikiya informed us and instantly we released Orion's buster sword as we prepared to fight Kaosu.

Bridgette released Divinity's two katana-tachi and used a hill to bounce off of and soon flew right past Kare and slicing him across the abdomen so that he collided into the hill.

Aquarius dipped below the water and went deep while leaving Kanojo to skim over the surface while trying to find it. Kaoru's team turned the robot and so flew right back up into and belting Kanojo in the stomach before grabbing and throwing her down into the water.

"Kaosu's closing in; I'm releasing the claws" Baron told us as he released Orion's claw blades from the back of our robot's left hand.

"Brace for impact" I told the others and Kaosu soon collided into us, as we retaliated by piercing his right shoulder with Orion's claws before kicking him off of us and followed up by slicing him across the chest with our buster sword before flying up and away from him.

"Teams report in" the Professor announced.

"Team Divinity doing fine" Bridgette reported.

"Team Aquarius has a few scratches in the finish, but we're otherwise iie worse for wear" Kaoru shared.

"Team Orion has a few minor dents, dings, and abrasions, but we're still good to go" Blade answered on our behalf.

"Hai, but not for long, they're coming back for us" Bright informed us.

"Then let's play 'Chicken'" Burst said and we all knew nani she was referring to.

Engaging our engines, we began to fly towards one another, waiting until almost the last second to use our braking thrusters to bring us to a halt while inclining our robots to fly straight up into the air together. Kare, Kaosu, and Kanojo didn't fare as well as they collided into each other.

"Great move, everyone, but let's not get cocky; they'll soon be after us once again" Blade complimented the teams.

That was when the three demons landed down upon us and sent us crashing into the ground as Kaosu said, "We're going to rip you three mechanical people to shreds!"

"Kiss my o-shiri" Butterfly shot back as she fired a laser into Kaosu's face.

"Butterfly!" I exclaimed in astonishment.

"Reprimand her later, right now…" Blade replied as he kicked Kaosu off of us.

Aquarius slammed Kanojo in the sides of her head with both fists and Divinity kneed Kare right between the legs. We all jumped up and took off to get away and assess our teammates for injury.

"A few minor cuts and bruises, but we can still go on" I reported to the Professor.

"Given current conditions and circumstances, though, I don't know how much longer we'll be able to last" Bullet added, the one who received the worst injuries in the crashes as she had a cut on the side of her head and a small trickle of blood running down her cheek from it.

"Get your first-aid kit and do your best to clean and bandage yourself up, Bullet-chan" Berry instructed her and Bullet turned around to get started.

"Maybe we'd do better if we just went and formed Ultima Z" offered Breeze.

"We can't do that until Kaosu decides to absorb Kare and Kanojo to empower himself" Bonbon replied while changing into a clean uniform; she'd had an accident when we were sent crashing into the ground.

"Don't be so sure," Bridgette said. "The longer this 'cat and mouse' game goes on, the more frustrated those baka demons are going to be. Once they reach their breaking point - BOOM, their powers are going to be to a maximum. From nani Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup told me, when Kare got angry to the point of throwing a tantrum, they had some difficulty, and keep in mind that those demons are not above playing mind games with us. Fighting fire with fire will only cause a bigger inferno, and that will only complicate matters."

"Nani does Bridgette-san mean by 'fighting fire with fire will only cause a bigger inferno', Dad?" Blizzard asked in confusion of the analogy.

"She means that it could make a bad situation ten times worse" Boomer replied to his son.

"Heads up; Kare's closing in at three o'clock!" Bash shouted to his companions.

"But it is only 9:30" noted Sherbet until Kare impacted with Divinity and sent them plowing into the four office buildings.

"Can we discuss time and terminology some other time, onegai?" shouted Clemintina as she was now frantically grabbing the repair kit to address a wound on Bridgette's forehead.

"Note to self: Yell at the Professor for not supplying helmets" Bridgette said before slumping against her controls and momentarily losing consciousness.

"It looks like Divinity is out of the fight for a bit; where's Kaosu?" I asked while desperately trying to check all of my blind-spots as though the sonar wasn't working.

"Nine o'clock low!" Baron announced and we all braced for impact as Kaosu flew up and began spinning himself into a cyclone of dark energy.

"Nani; is that the best you've got?" Blade asked with a mild chuckle as we manipulated our controls to make Orion perform one of our team's signature maneuvers, gathering energy into Orion's hands and releasing it right into the storm.

A grand cheer rose up when the beam of energy impacted into Kaosu's storm and sent him stumbling back and falling to the ground. However, it was short-lived when he retaliated by blasting dark energy into Orion and giving us all a painful shock until we were able to break away from the attack.

"Another…one of those…and we…won't be able…to fight…much longer" Bubbles said as she was gasping to catch her breath.

"Solar power's low; let's head into the sun's light" suggested Burst and we flew up above the clouds.

Kaoru's POV

"Divinity's down and Orion just flew up above the clouds; looks like it's just us" I heard Lucia report with a slight panic in her voice.

"Hai, but Kare's watching over Divinity and Kaosu's recovering from a Solar Flare attack, so the playing field is still even" Kaito replied in a calm voice.

"And iie sign of Kanojo…yet" added Rina.

"Waterspout at ten o'clock and heading towards us; give you one guess as to who that may be" Rikiya announced.

"Kaori, nani is the marine life report on this vicinity?" Isamu inquired.

"Vacant of all save a few small fish" Kaori answered.

Extending Aquarius's trident, we then fired a blast of energy like a bolt of lightning into the storm which then dissipated into nothingness.

"She wasn't in there?" asked Kanta in surprise.

Kanojo then shot up out of the water from below and dragged us underwater where she scratched, clawed, and attacked us with dark energies to the point of tearing us apart. Managing to free one arm, Sakiya managed to release Aquarius's sai and used it to cut across Kanojo's chest and thus freed us from her onslaught.

"You'll pay for that, you bas…" Kanojo started to shout when we clamped one hand over Kanojo's mouth to shut her up.

"Hey, watch your mouth; there are children present!" I shouted back before blasting Kanojo in the stomach with a bubble-torpedo before heading back to the surface.

"Neat trick, Mama; it was a lot like a pistol shrimp" noted Kaori in amazement.

"That's where we learned it and thus the Professor and Brain were able to duplicate the effect so as to create a weapon for the Aquarius to use" I told her honestly as we broke through the surface of the water and headed up towards Orion.

Bridgette's POV

I awoke a few minutes later and looked around to see Clemintina trying to figure out how to use the controls on her own when I told her, "I guess I lost consciousness."

"Oh good, you're awake! I've been trying to get this bucket of bolts to stand up, but so far I've only been able to get the windshield wipers going" Clemintina told me as I clicked the wipers off.

"Everybody check in" I ordered and soon the rest of Team Divinity reported in.

"Glad to have you back with us, Bridgette-chan; I was worried about you when Clemintina reported that you her been knocked out" Bash told me.

"Hai, well Kare's still nearby and will be on us if we try to get Divinity up on its feet" Bullet reported.

"Then everyone get ready to swipe Kare's legs and hit the rockets to get up out of here before he can recover" I instructed and we all prepared to spring into action.

Swinging out one leg, we had Divinity swipe Kare's legs so that he fell to the ground in front of us, just as we sprang up and shot up into the air.

Releasing one special cannon, we aimed it at Kare and fired white light into his chest and watched with great pleasure as he screamed, jolted, and twitched in pain before cutting the beam and heading further up to join up with our teammates and friends.

"Pleased to see you guys up and around" I heard Blade's voice say as we flew up beside Orion.

"Arigato, I just needed a quick nap" I fibbed; iie point in telling him the truth and worrying him further.

"So nani are we doing up here?" asked Bonbon innocently.

"Solar powering up for our next confrontation with those three demons" Beetle replied.

"I think we need to land, regroup, make a change of plans, and recuperate" noted Brain to the rest of us.

"I concur" Byte replied.

"We don't have enough time" I told them even though I was willing to take a much needed break myself.

"Kaosu went down a bit easily; he may be trying to recuperate himself" offered Blossom.

"I'm worried about Bloom; I haven't heard a word from her all day" Bullet noted.

"There's an island over there that's big enough for us to land; we'll stop there" Blade instructed us.

Blossom's POV

We soon landed and exited out of our vessels after activating a cloaking shield over the island so as to get together with our friends. Bullet met Blade by the foot of Divinity and let him go in first. Blade soon popped his head back out of Bloom's vessel, with her in his arms, and Bullet began to fear the worse as she began tearing up.

"It's alright; she's just taking a nap" Blade told her softly and we all breathed a sigh of relief.

"Are you getting enough sunlight through the cloaking shield, Blade?" Baron then asked of him while Blade was placing Bloom into her mother's arms.

"Hai, gather together everyone and join hands" Blade then instructed and we all did as instructed, with some light threatening to the children as some were uncertain about hand holding with any of the others.

Focusing his energy, Blade performed a group Healing Hand with Bright assisting him with some of her energies. When done, we all began discussing our next course of action.

"Let us first sit down and break some bread and enjoy some fresh water to further replenish our strength" Bridgette suggested and we all agreed as she brought out a few loaves of bread while Bash brought a large thermos of water.

After getting a little food in our stomachs, we let the little ones take a nap while we talked further, "Kaosu's surely regained much of his energy by now."

"Perhaps, but we still need to figure out a way to destroy all three of them" Berry replied.

Bridgette suddenly looked up and shivered visibly in front of us.

"Uh-oh" I said in realization of nani had just occurred.

"Another premonition, Bridge?" asked Kaoru in concern.

"Hai, Kaosu's getting ready to force Kare and Kanojo into merging with him" Bridgette replied with a concerned look in her eyes.

"Then we'd best get ready, too" Bubbles said with fear in her voice.

Once the children had awakened, we boarded our robots and made ready to go into action.

"Everyone in position and prepare to form Ultima Z" Blade instructed us and we all took up our positions.

Aquarius and Divinity turned to face each other before transforming into the legs and torso of Ultima Z while Orion became the head and arms of Ultima Z. We then changed our robots' colors so that the robot appeared to be white and wearing a gold uniform as we struck a pose.

Kaosu's POV

I'd had enough of this fighting and playing around with these Powerpuffs when I finally decided that the time had come to increase my powers to their true maximum levels as I called out, "Kare, Kanojo; come to me."

"You summoned me, my Master" Kare said as he knelt before me.

"Where is Kanojo?" I asked of him.

"Probably resting at the bottom of the sea" I replied.

I walked around Kare till I stood behind him and I could see him tensing up.

"Gomen nasai, but I need your body and powers to achieve my ultimate form" I said as I placed a hand upon his shoulder and began to absorb Kare into me while he screamed out and attempted to resist; a futile effort on his part.

"Sumimasen for my tardiness, Master; those Mermaids gave me a few injuries that I needed to recover from" Kanojo replied as she arrived and I turned to glance over my shoulder to her; I'd just finished absorbing Kare.

"Did they now; come to me, my daughter, and tell me all about it" I said to her in a comforting manner in hopes to bring her in close enough to absorb her as well.

She looked at me in surprise, but still walked forward and placed her claws upon my chest as she started to tell me while I slowly began to absorb her energies until she was almost asleep and then took in the rest of her.

Reveling in the dark energies as they swirled around me, I felt myself grow to ten times my normal size, demonic wings sprouted from my back, horns grew up out of my head and I could feel the powers of all of my shadows flowing through me.

Bridgette's POV

We were flying back towards the city when I felt a super-cold, deathly chill shoot through me and screamed out in pain.

"Are you alright, Bridgette-chan?" Bash inquired of me in concern.

"Iie, Kaosu's reached his ultimate level!" I exclaimed as I tried to sit back up.

"I know; I felt it, too" I heard Blade report.

"We all did" Blossom added and soon the others were confirming her suspicion.

"Look; the clouds below us!" we then heard Breeze call out and we all turned to see the clouds below us turning almost black as night and began to swirl over Tokyo and slowly spreading out to cover all of Honshu.

I turned to check up on my little ones via their onboard cameras to see them all, Kaede especially, deep in prayer.

Blade's POV

"Blossom, if by any chance there's a way to help us in destroying Kaosu, we'd be most appreciative" I whispered quietly.

"Everyone, lock your weapons into their slots" Blossom announced and we all slipped our weapons into their holders where they would be morphed into a larger, more powerful weapon.

Simultaneously, we all murmured, "May the Great Kami be with us."

We then dropped below the cloud deck and came out of the clouds to see that all was eerily still while the clouds continued to swirl overhead.

"You pathetic mortals are right on time…to meet your doom" a dark voice said from the center of the storm and we all turned to see Kaosu standing there.

We remained silent as we released the Ultima Z's sword and still remained quite concerned as to whether or not it would be strong enough.

"If you think that little toy is going to be enough to destroy me then bring it" Kaosu taunted us.

We prepared to attack, but before we could move, he was right beside us with an orb of dark energy which he released into the stomach of Ultima Z. We were blown back and down while Kaosu stood over us, laughing maniacally.

"Is everyone alright?" Blossom asked concernedly.

"A little banged up, but we're otherwise doing just fine" Bridgette reported back.

Getting back up, we had Ultima Z attack back by using a windmill kick to strike him in the stomach and down before quickly putting some distance between us.

"There's got to be a better maneuver than that for us to use against him" Bright complained.

"Well you'd better think quickly; he's back up and getting ready to attack us again" Lucia replied.

"I've got it" I replied as we also charged at Kaosu with our sword pulled back and, as we passed, swiped him with it.

"Nice attempt, but fruitless nonetheless" Kaosu said as he quickly healed up from his injury.

Turning back to us, Kaosu raised a single clawed-finger to the clouds above and black lightning bolts rained down upon us. We did our best to resist the attack, but it broke through our shields and we were all jolted through by the dark energies.

"He's too powerful for us" Bubbles said before losing consciousness.

We were starting to recover in spite of losing Bubbles when Kaosu was over us and shooting dark energy orb after dark energy orb at us. Many more of our teammates succumbed to exhaustion form bracing against the onslaught.

"Roll out!" Bright screamed and we literally had Ultima Z roll away until we could jump back up to our feet.

"Fish sticks; over half of the crew is out!" Buttercup noted to us; as she hated fish, she always used the term 'fish sticks' as an equivalent of swearing.

"Actually, it's worse than that, Buttercup-chan. Outside of you and Blaze, Team Divinity and Team Aquarius are out for the count" Blossom reported in.

"Then let's see nani we can do to protect our friends; Buttercup, Blaze, leave your ships and come join me and Blossom" I instructed them and the two of them soon joined us.

Separating from our teammates, we took up Orion's form once again and retrieved Ultima Z's sword to try taking on Kaosu again.

"Pathetic show of bravado" Kaosu criticized us with an evil chuckle.

"Wait a second; that's it! I know how to weaken Kaosu, but it's going to take all of us saying the words at the same time to be loud enough for him to hear" Buttercup soon proclaimed and shared the incantation with us.

"It's crazy enough, but it just might work" Blossom added.

"Clemintina, Sherbet, you two return to Mama and Daddy" Buttercup started to say when I put a bit of pressure upon a trigger point and she fell asleep.

Turning, I did the same to Blaze before telling the two Sweets Spirits, "Take them with you; this is our sacrifice to make."

Clemintina nodded her head in agreement before using her magic to transport herself and the two children back to their parents' sides. I then noticed that Sherbet was still with us.

"You need to go with them, Sherbet-chan" I instructed her.

"Iie, I'm staying with you; I want this to be my sacrifice, too" Sherbet replied and despite my desire for her to be safe, I agreed.

"Are we ready to do this, then?" Bubbles asked as she had regained consciousness.

"We speak to the shadow demons within; release from your master and disperse for your master iie longer requires you" we all stated quite loudly and firmly.

A cloud of dark shadows left out of Kaosu while he yelled out in disbelief, "NANI HAVE YOU DONE?!"

The dark clouds broke up and through them, a massive sword of light fell to the ground at Orion's feet as a voice was heard to say, "Here, use this to help in destroying Kaosu!"

The new sword quickly melded with Ultima Z's sword and we soon felt the warm energy of light flowing through us.

"Domo arigato gozaimasu, Blossom" both Stellar Blossom and I said softly as we realized from where this new power and energy had originated.

"Kaosu, you die now!" we all called out as we lifted off into the air with a new, more powerful weapon at our disposal.

Summoning forth a new weapon of his own, half scythe and half battle-axe, Kaosu charged forward but we evaded his attack as we leaped up and over his head. High up above him, we used the sword to pierce through his abdomen and impaling him to the ground below.

"Blade, you need to use your final attack upon him to destroy him" Blossom told me and I knew she was right.

Raising one of Orion's hands, I gathered together all of the energies of our friends, the city, and the people of Tokyo into Orion's hand.

"Are we ready for this?" I asked of my teammates.

"All or nothing" Blossom replied.

"This is nani we came here for" Bubbles said.

"Iie regrets" Baron added.

"Let's do this" the children all called out.

With that, we released the orb as we all called out, "Super Nova Finish!"

Bridgette's POV

We had awakened in time to see nani our friends were doing and we all watched on in horror as our friends made their final sacrifice.

The orb lifted up from Orion's hand and soon fell back upon them as they held the sword in place so that Kaosu couldn't remove it. The light from the impact was too blindingly bright to look at but we all heard Kaosu as he screamed out, "IIE!"

The ensuing blast created a strong wind that we all had to brace against but once it had dissipated, we all looked back to see nothing but a huge burn mark that had a crater in the center of it. We all began to leave out of our vessels as many of Tokyo's citizens also slowly came out to approach the epicenter of the explosion and surrounded the crater.

"You did it guys; you destroyed Kaosu" I said quietly as I began tearing up.

"They made the ultimate sacrifice and won for us our freedom from Kaosu's tyranny" Bash said as he took hold of me.

We all broke out crying and continued kneeling upon the ground by the crater until we were too tired to continue crying anymore. Slowly and numbly, we rose up and departed from the battle scene and left back to the lab.

But it wasn't until we entered the lab that I realized that Sherbet was missing and turned to ask Clemintina where she was and all she could do was start bawling and I realized nani she had done.

"Come on, everyone, let's get some sleep; we've a memorial to attend tomorrow" Boomer said and we all agreed to head off to get some sleep, though the tears refused to stop falling.

Clemintina would wake up frequently through the night and break out crying until she cried herself to sleep, so needless to say, she had trouble remaining awake at breakfast the next morning. Many of us were having trouble staying focused on eating our meal as we kept drifting off in thought until Ami asked the one question that was plaguing all of our minds.

"So nani happens next?" she asked of Pazu who just turned and hugged her silently.

"Blade knew there was a strong likelihood that either all of most of Team Orion wouldn't survive the battle, so he made this video" the Professor announced once we had cleared the table.

Popping the disc into the DVD player, we all turned to watch as Blade's image filled the screen and soon began to speak to us: "If you're watching this, you are probably wondering nani happens now that most of Team Orion is iie longer around. That's really a good question, but more importantly, your next task is to continue on without us. You are all still the Powerpuffs Z and nothing will change that.

"Kaarii-chan…you are one of the most respected individuals on the team. You shared your dark secret with me long before sharing it with anyone else. You always confided in me with your problems. You made me feel like your oniisan when you never had one before and that really spoke to me. It is because of this that I leave you to take over as the team's leader. You're level-headed in most circumstances, keep to that and remember: as team leader, iie matter how much you'd like to, you can't just fly off the handle whenever the whim hits anymore. I have always tried to lead by example and now the position falls to you. Take care of the team for me, Bridgette-chan.

"I know I should probably be addressing each of you in turn, but forgive me this one small failure and know that I am proud to have fought alongside of all of you. To the little ones, though, let me say this: Mind your parents and learn from their examples. To Ami and Isamu, we've been through so much together and yet in it all, I can only say to you: Gomen nasai for not being around when you needed me the most. I was greatly honored to be your oniisan. Clemintina, it was a great honor and privilege to have met you. Sherbet…" the video ended there.

"It's almost as though he knew that she would make the ultimate sacrifice along with the rest of them" Kaede noted while hugging Clemintina.

I remained silent as I let this huge piece of information set in. It was one thing to lose our friends and my never-had-but-always-kind-of-wanted oniisan, but now I was placed in charge of leading the team.

"Well, Kaarii-sempai, it looks like it's up to you to decide nani happens next" Kanta noted to me.

"We have a memorial to get ready for" I quietly replied as we all stood up and headed off to get dressed.

We girls all wore black dresses, black hosiery, and black shoes. The men dressed in black suits, ties, and shoes while wearing white shirts. We soon gathered around the crater and bowed our heads in a moment of silence.

Gathering up a wreath, we tossed each one into the crater as I spoke, "We gather together this day to pay honor and respect to our lost teammates. Team Orion: Blade, Blossom, Burst, Bright, Butterfly, Bubbles, Baron, Beetle, Bison, and Blast; sacrificed their lives in order to save all not only the few of us, but the people of Tokyo and the world as well. M-May we never forget…nani they have done for us."

"Nor should we forget" we heard Mayor Bellum say as she and many others arrived to also pay their respects to our lost friends and family.

"You know the next time we're required to do something like that, remind me to stay home" a familiar voice said as we all turned to watch as Butterfly walked out of a portal and griping while trying to hold her uniform up.

"How do you think we feel?" Beetle replied while following after her and helping to hold her leotard up.

"Let's just be glad Bright remembered her keyblade and thus sent us into that strange world before we were all killed by that attack" noted Blast with a blush on his cheeks.

"Can we just go home and some clothes on?!" squawked Burst while limping.

We all rushed over and snatched the children up in tight hugs when I finally found my voice to ask of them, "Where are your folks?"

"Right here, Bridgette-chan" Blossom replied while wearing only her lingerie and Blade's vest.

"Ite, my aching head" Bubbles complained while wearing Baron's vest and leaning against him.

"But where's Blade?" I asked of them anxiously.

"…and stay back!" Blade shouted as he exited out of the portal with his sword in hand and little Sherbet standing on his shoulder while holding an eighteen in bowie knife blade that had been affixed to a long handle that was just about as big as she was.

Bright then quickly returned and swiped her keyblade to reseal the portal just after Blade released a Piercing Light attack into the portal.

"Nani the heck happened to you guys?" Bash asked of them.

"Exactly" Beetle replied as he was sitting on the ground.

"We'll explain later, right now we just want to go home, take a bath and get some clothes on" Blossom replied.

"Where's your ice cream scoop-wand, Sherbet-chan?" asked Clemintina while staring at the large weapon in Sherbet's hands.

"Nani Blossom said" Sherbet replied with a yawn as she landed upon Blade's shoulder.

"She's right; let's get them home to get cleaned up" Kuriko instructed as we helped see them back to the lab.

Once at the lab, our friends set their weapons down to receive some maintenance before continuing in to the furoba together.

While watching as Ken was cleaning up and sharpening their weapons, Josh walked over and picked up the weapon Sherbet had been carrying and noted aloud, "It looks like Sherbet now has her own buster sword."

"Based on size of the weapon versus Sherbet's size, I'd say it's more like that big sword that one guy carried in the 'Rurouni Kenshin' anime series" noted Kuriko while preparing a laser to start sharpening the weapons with.

"You're right, they called it a zanbato in the anime, though in truth they mislabeled the weapon" Ken added in.

"So nani exactly is a zanbato?" Kanta inquired.

"A zanbato is one of two different weapons, the first of which was a more like a spear but with a katana blade attached to one end. The other is like a katana, only its blade anywhere from two to three times longer than normal and must be drawn with two hands. It was because of its length that it usually took two people to unsheathe the weapon" Ken informed us.

"Strange that they would mislabel a sword like that in an anime" Ami commented.

"Well, it's because they're usually regarded as pole swords and in the case of said weapon, it does indeed still resemble a pole and even its grip is the length of a pole" Kuriko replied.

"To simplify things, while being a pole sword, the more politically correct term for such a large weapon is 'buster sword'" Ken finalized and we all nodded our heads in agreement.

Our friends soon returned from the furoba and Kuriko showed them to a couple of rooms to let them get some much needed rest. Once they were rested up and had rejoined us, we quietly waited for their explanation.

"So where were you and nani happened?" Isamu asked while sitting on the floor at her oniisan's feet.

"I guess the best place to start would to be when we were facing our own destruction while holding Kaosu in place. Bright used her keyblade to open a portal into another dimension as it seemed our only way to possibly survive. Unfortunately, the world we wound up in was, for all intents and purposes, was a literal Hell. In fact, if you were to tell me that it was Hell, you wouldn't have to try very hard to convince me. Anyways, while there, we wound up going through battle after battle trying to find another portal back home" Luke began telling us.

"Creatures there were the stuff of nightmares, horror stories, and hentai" Miyako cut in with a pout while snuggling up against Takaaki.

"They tore at us with a vengeance, but fortunately we had our weapons with us. At one point, in an attempt to keep Sherbet from using her magic to further defend us, a creature snatched her ice cream scoop/wand away and destroyed it. But a little later, we found the blade of a bowie knife and used it to fabricate a new weapon for her to use and she was able to get right back into helping us after a little bit of training. She's quite the little warrior" Momoko informed us while stroking Sherbet's back in a loving manner.

"Does this mean that you're looking to Luke or Momoko to be your new partner, Sherbet-chan?" Josh asked of her.

"Iie, I'm your partner until you breathe you last breath, Josh-kun" Sherbet replied with a smile.

"But I don't understand; you make it sound as though you were gone for almost a long time when you were only really gone for a few hours" Ami noted in confusion.

"Time runs differently between the two dimensions. For every hour that occurred here, a day went by in that world" Takaaki explained.

"Iie wonder you guys were so tired and dirty" commented Pazu in amazement.

"Well, at least you were all able to return to us. I may have been temporarily placed as leader of the team, but I could never fill your place, Oniichan" I replied as I stood up and walked out of the room to have a much needed cry.

"Are those tears because you missed us or because you're iie longer the team leader?" I heard Luke ask after a few minutes.

"The first" I replied before turning around and embracing him tightly.

"Hey, iie more tears. We're here and we're not going anywhere, Kaarii-chan" Luke said once I finished crying into his chest.

"You're right" I replied with a smile and we turned to rejoin our friends in celebrating Kaosu's destruction before heading off for our separate homes.

* * *

><p><strong>Carly: Now that was an exciting chapter!<strong>

**TCW: True.**

**Carly: So nani is next?**

**Next time…**

**Momoko: Time marches on…**

**Luke: The little ones aren't so little anymore…**

**TCW: All this and still a lot more to come!**

**Momoko and Carly: Just be sure to leave us some nice reviews, onegai shimasu!**

**Author's Note: I'm going to be going back through the chapters of this story to make some necessary edits before continuing on any further. Sorry for the inconvenience, but rest assured that I am still accepting reviews, ideas, and suggestions. - The Cat Whispurrer  
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	80. Part 8 & Anzu's Temper

**Arigato for the great reviews and I'm sorry if I worried anyone in the last chapter. I was planning on writing a separate chapter telling of the Cosmicpuffs Z adventure in the 'other dimension' but that idea has been vetoed. Maybe I'll do a missing chapter story sometime later, but that's undecided unless I get some encouragement to do so. Meanwhile, I shall now present you all with…**

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><p><strong>Part 8: Family Matters<strong>

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><p><strong>Anzu's Temper<strong>

It was back to school time for the children and our girls personalities were coming through quite strongly. Suzuko was proving herself to be quite the academic as she loved to study. Akahana also loved most of her subjects, though she was having some difficulty in a few areas.

Anzu, on the other hand, was proving herself to be a bit of a trouble-maker. She was insubordinate in class, quick to lose her temper with her schoolmates, and mouthy. One's patience was always being pushed to the limits with her, unless she was at home. At home she was frequently found in her Luke's study, lying on her stomach, feet in the air, reading up on swordsmanship and strongly riveted to Luke's old bushido book. It was because of this that I failed to understand her misbehavior in school.

Luke and I were called in for a meeting with the girls' sensei and kouchou-sensei as they had reached their limits with Anzu.

"She's sassy, sarcastic, ill-tempered, and violent!" her sensei shouted. "Just the other day, I caught her threatening another student!"

"The baka spilled his milk on me!" Anzu fired back but was silenced by her father setting a hand upon her shoulder.

"Nani we have here is a failure to show respect to her sensei and a need to learn self-control" Kouchou-sensei said in a calm, but frustrated manner.

"I guess Kaarii-chan's sass is rubbing off on her, and she takes after her father in the temper department" I said with a sigh.

Luke sweat dropped at this statement; he knew full well that he would do the exact same things back in his school times, especially concerning me.

"Regardless, that girl is nothing more than a loose cannon and either she learns to behave, or she'll just get herself expelled" her sensei said.

"News flash: I did stuff like that all the time when it came to keeping my friends and family safe. Don't you think that maybe she's probably doing the same thing in some cases? Or even defending herself against the ijimekko-tachi?" Luke offered helpfully.

"The circumstances don't justify this, Armstrong-san. Even if she is acting on self-defense or to step in for others, she can't mouth off like that. I understand if she's stressed out or it's merely sensory overload, but she's out of line!" Kouchou-sensei replied.

"I can think of an all-girls' boarding school in Paris, France that would set her straight" her sensei said.

View of Anzu at the boarding school

~Narrator~ "In an old house in Paris, all covered with vines, lives…" he began.

"Lives a very annoyed little girl who's going to kill the narrator if he continues reading those same stupid lines" Anzu continues in a sassy tone.

~Narrator~ "That's it, I quit."

Back to reality

"Either that or a convent" her sensei added.

"I don't think we need to go that far, but I do think that some sort of agreement must be come to in regard to…discipline" Kouchou-sensei said in finality.

"I agree, I think many of the people around here could benefit from some discipline and I volunteer to provide it" Anzu replied with a mischievous grin until her father held up a warning finger to her.

"If you mean allowing you or anyone else in this school to strike her, then we're not going to come to an understanding" I cautioned them quite firmly.

"Actually, I think I may have an idea" Luke offered in a calm voice.

"And nani may that be?" I asked of him.

"Kendo" he replied simply and I found myself at odds with this. "It would provide her with an outlet for some of her pent up energy, it would teach her discipline, and maybe even help her to learn some self-control."

"I've already spoken with our kendo sensei and he, in iie certain terms, said that Anzu is unwelcomed in his dojo. Anzu has already beat up most of his students and even mouthed off at him when he tried to step in" Kouchou-sensei told us and we all turned to look at Anzu in questioning.

"Nani; they were threatening to use their toy swords to hit me with if I so much as even looked at them wrong. I just taught them to mind their manners and to not be so self-assured" Anzu told us in her own defense.

"Do you think Isamu would be willing to try teaching her?" I asked of Luke.

"Only one way to find out" Luke replied and so we agreed to wait while he called her to school.

"I know the Kendo sensei rather well; he took fourth place while I achieved first place when we were in college together. He's unworthy of teaching Anzu" Isamu said while holding Anzu in her lap.

"Then you would be willing to work with her as an afterschool program?" Kouchou-sensei asked of her.

"I would. And I won't go easy on her, either" Isamu promised us.

"Very well, and as Anzu's obasan, I will also expect you to help us in delivering appropriate discipline to her whenever she steps out of line" Kouchou-sensei said.

"Only if they agree to it" Isamu said while indicating me and Luke.

Turning to look at us, I said, "Let's see how this plays out first; maybe discipline won't be necessary. But if she should still require it, I expect to be called upon to deliver" I replied in final agreement, though secretly hating myself for making it; I hated striking my girls, but sometimes necessity won out over my dislikes and better me than Luke.

"Very well, it is agreed" Kouchou-sensei said as we all shook hands on it though Anzu just stubbornly crossed her arms.

We were on our way out of the school when Kangofu-sensei stopped us, saying, "Do you have a moment; I still need to speak to you in regards to Suzuko."

"Is she in some kind of trouble?" I asked in disbelief.

"Iie, not exactly; I'm concerned about her not wearing any undergarments or socks" Kangofu-sensei explained.

"We know, she gets fidgety while wearing them during the summer months, so we told her that we would agree to let her go without them as long as she agrees to wear shorts and comes straight home from school" I told her.

"Well, as long as you're aware of it, then I won't worry too much about it either" Kangofu-sensei replied with a smile and we were soon on our way to Isamu's store to get Anzu suited up with the proper equipment.

"The clothes I can understand, the helmet is a bit much, but why fight with an over-grown toothpick instead of a real sword?" Anzu asked in uncertainty.

"Real swords can cut and the purpose of kendo is to teach you how to use a sword _before_ taking up a real one" Luke explained while helping her to change into the proper vestments.

"I still don't like the helmet" she complained.

"I didn't like it either, but when someone broke their sword over my head, I was quite thankful for it. Not only did it keep the blow from causing any pain, but it also kept the flying shrapnel from getting into my eyes and causing severe damage" Luke explained to her as he helped her to slip the helmet on.

"I can see where that would make sense" Anzu finally agreed as she and Luke stepped out of the changing room.

"Fortunately, you won't need most of this for the first few weeks. You have to learn the basics first" Isamu told her while checking to make sure everything was fitting properly.

"Nani all are some of the basics?" Anzu asked.

"How to stand, how to hold your weapon, drawing your weapon, and the basic ways to swing your weapon" Isamu replied as she gave the okay for Luke to take Anzu back into the dressing room to change back into her street clothes.

"Do you think you can teach me how to spin my sword the way you do, Daddy?" Anzu asked.

"It wouldn't work with a kendo sword. You see, the kendo sword is modeled after the katana which is simply drawn from the side and into position. The buster sword that I typically fight with can similarly be drawn from the side, but it can also be pulled from off the back and over one's shoulder. As for the spin that you see me perform, that's because in bringing the sword down, gravity and inertia want to keep the tip on the downward incline. By spinning it, I take that inertia and use it against gravity's pull to place it back into the starting position faster" Luke explained to her.

"Oh, so that's why you do it" Anzu replied in understanding.

"You will also be expected to study bushido so as to learn how to properly behave" Isamu told her.

"I already read that; I use daddy's book" Anzu replied eagerly.

"She reads Luke's bushido book and is still have behavior problems in school?" Isamu asked of me in a whispered voice.

"I know; it doesn't make any sense to me either" I whispered back.

"Good, then I expect you should almost be able to recite it without the book" Isamu noted aloud.

"Well, I read it, but I'm not that good with it" Anzu replied while skipping out of the changing room and approached me.

"Iie, but we're going to start working on that" I told her determinedly.

"Is that a bamboo buster sword?" Luke asked as he noticed a rather large, wooden sword hanging on the wall with the kendo swords as opposed to being with the cosplay weapons.

"Hai, it's a new idea that some kendo sword manufacturers are getting ready to start making. That's just a prototype, but from nani I've seen of them, they're quite strong. Though nothing compared to the ones you use, oniichan" Isamu replied.

"I would imagine that getting them approved by the kendo tournament administrators is going to be the hardest part" I said honestly.

"That reminds me, I've got another buster sword on the way for you, oniichan" Isamu then informed her kyodai.

"You never cease to amaze me" Luke replied with a smile.

"This one is based on the one from that Naruto anime" she told him.

"It'll make a great addition to my growing collection" Luke told her with a chuckle.

"Just wait until the four following that one get here; those will really blow your mind" noted Kanta as he entered the store.

"Four more are coming?" I asked in shock; Luke's study was already full of the large weapons.

"Hai, but those he's not getting until the holidays roll around" Isamu replied with a determined grin on her face.

Anzu yawned and began to lean a bit against me when I glanced down to see that she was falling asleep beside me so I called to Luke, "It's about time we returned home."

Turning to look at me, they all noticed Anzu falling asleep on her feet so Luke walked over to pick her up in his arms where she just wrapped herself around him to fall asleep.

"Arigato for agreeing to help us out with Anzu's behavior issue, Isamu-chan" I expressed to her.

"Doitashimashite, I'm sure she'll be an excellent student" Isamu replied confidently.

"I do hope so; for her benefit, I do hope so" I replied as Luke and I began to head out the door.

Upon arrival home, Luke set Anzu down upon her bed and undressed her to her underwear before slipping her into her bed to finish her nap. I went in search for the other two and found Akahana napping in the shade of a tree while Suzuko was napping on a float that she had anchored in the shade of another tree while in the pool and without a stitch on; I just shook my head at her.

Returning inside, Luke and I sat down to discuss Suzuko's adversity to wear clothes as we had thought she had grown out of that phase.

"She gets fidgety when we make her wear underclothes and even tends to scratch a lot while dressed" I noted to him.

"I wonder if she's allergic to the material" Luke pondered and we headed up to Suzuko's room to look over her clothing.

"You know, the only time I've ever seen her comfortable is when she wears her silk nightie" I noted to Luke.

"I'm going to make her an appointment to see a dermatologist, but I want to talk with Ami first. It could also have something to do with the detergent we're using" Luke said as he pulled out his cell phone.

"That's true; many of our silk items are dry clean only" I replied.

"Moshi-moshi, Ami-chan; I've got a slight problem that I'm hoping you can help me with" Luke greeted in return once Ami answered her phone.

"Oh? Nani sort of problem?" Ami asked in concern.

"It's Suzuko; she's taken to being a naturalist again and both her mother and I are concerned whether it may be an allergy to either the detergent we use or her clothes themselves" Luke explained.

"I'll be right over" Ami replied before hanging up her phone and so I returned to the daidokoro to prepare some tea.

When Ami arrived and we were sharing a glass of iced tea together, we soon headed up to Suzuko's room where she sat upon her bed reading and wearing one of her silk nightgowns.

"Hmm, dry clean only; nani about socks or hosiery?" Ami inquired of me while examining Suzuko's clothing.

"They're typically for formal occasions" Luke replied honestly.

"And nani about the bedclothes?" she asked.

"Those are sateen" I replied as I folded down her blanket and top sheet to let Ami see.

"When you sleep in your bed, do you wear your nightgown, Suzuko-chan?" Ami asked of her.

"When it is cold I do" Suzuko replied honestly.

"And you have iie problems with the material?" Ami asked further.

"Iie, Obachan" she replied.

Turning and heading for Suzuko's dresser, she pulled out a few undershirts, panties, and socks to examine them closely before turning and asking, "May I see her shoes?"

Luke left to retrieve them and Ami began examining them closely as well before asking, "Suzuko-chan, do you use any kind of foot powder in your shoes?"

"Hai" she replied as she picked up a bottle of Gold Bond-brand foot powder to let her obachan see.

"When you're wearing clothes, where does it itch the most?" Ami inquired of her.

"When wearing panties, it itches around my waist, legs, and personal areas; for socks, it's in the upper areas; as for my bathing suit, the whole thing itches" Suzuko replied and both Luke and I turned to look at each other.

"And which of your dresses makes you itch?" Ami asked and Suzuko pulled out the ones with an elastic waistband inside of them.

"There's the answer; she's allergic to the elastic" Ami informed us.

"Which means she's allergic to latex" Luke summarized for all of us.

"Am I in trouble?" Suzuko then asked of us as she began to get teary-eyed.

"Iie, you're not in trouble; in fact, you're just fine" I told her with a hug.

"Does her isha use vinyl or latex gloves?" Ami then asked of us.

"Typically vinyl since so many are allergic to latex, but it does explain why she winds up with so many red spots on her arm whenever she's been in for lab work; I'm going to have to call and let them know tomorrow" Luke said in determination.

"I'm also going to call her in sick from school tomorrow until I can take her shopping for some new underclothes and a new bathing suit" I added.

"I don't know about the socks issue, but as for the rest, I'd suggest tie-on styles" Ami suggested and I nodded my head in agreement.

"Nani about Suzuko's shoes; are they safe?" Luke asked.

"She wears the cotton types which don't contain any latex, but I'd be sure to check their conditions frequently as sometimes the insoles can contain latex" Ami cautioned us.

"We can take out the insoles and replace them with new ones; I've even heard of memory foam insoles which are not only super comfortable, but contain iie latex. But I am concerned about her fitted sheets" I noted to them and we all had to stop to consider how to handle that issue.

"You might go talk with Miyako since she's pretty good about working around such issues" Ami suggested and I nodded my head in agreement.

"Wait a second…didn't Miyako say that Tomohiro was presenting similar issues, Luke?" I asked of him in realization.

"You'd better call and let her know" Luke told me as I snatched up my cell phone and used the speed dial to call her.

"Miyako, we now know nani is wrong with Suzuko and Tomohiro" I told her once she answered the phone.

"Is it something serious?!" Miyako asked in deep concern.

"It can be; they're allergic to latex which is nani they make most of the elastic material in waistbands and socks from" I told her and I could hear Miyako running up the stairs of her home.

"I'm on my way up to Tomohiro's room so I'll call you back a little later" Miyako told me and hung up the phone.

Miyako's POV

I entered the house and dashed to Tomohiro's room where I saw him sitting on his bed and scratching at his waistline. Closing the door behind me, I quickly stood him up and without explanation or ceremony, I stripped him of all of his clothes and stared at the red lines crossing his waist, wrapped around his upper legs, and down on his shins while he just stared at me in concern.

I then dashed out of his room to head for the furoba where I opened the medicine cabinet and pulled out some cortisone cream and returned to Tomohiro's bedroom where I found him picking up his clothes to start getting dressed.

"Drop them right now, wakai otoko" I said firmly as I squirted some of the ointment into my hands and began to wipe it over the marks.

"Is something wrong with me, Mama?" he asked in concern.

"You're allergic to latex which is to be found in the elastic of your clothes. It can be dangerous if we're not careful" I told him after finishing applying the cream to his shins.

"I knew it had to be serious for you to strip me like that" he said quietly.

"Iie worries, I've seen you naked plenty of times" I told him with a smile as I hugged him.

Turning to his bed, I removed the sheets before turning and walking towards the linen closet where I extracted two flat sheets and used them to remake his bed. I then stood up and flipped and checked his blanket carefully and released a sigh.

"Good, it's all cotton; daijobu, into bed" I told Tomohiro.

"But nani about clothes" he asked of me.

"You'll be sleeping in the buff tonight" I told him as I turned and picked him up in my arms and set him into bed. "I'll make you some new sleep clothes tomorrow, though I have iie idea as to nani I'm going to do about socks or underpants, but I'll come up with something."

Looking down at the floor, I rolled up his rug with his clothes inside and even dragged his wheeled desk chair out of the room before returning with a tatami mat and a wooden chair with a handmade cushion tied to both the back and seat; I wasn't going to take any chances where Tomohiro's health was concerned. I then kissed Tomohiro on the cheek and left out of his room while clicking his light off and left to where I had left the rest of his things and noticed his kyodai-tachi looking at me in mild concern.

"Nani is going on; is something wrong with Tomohiro?" Youga asked of me in concern.

"Iie, he's just allergic to a substance called latex and I have to remove any possible chances of his coming into contact with it" I explained to Youga as I began to check over everything else in the house; I would definitely have to do some redecorating.

I had already sent Youga and Eri off to bed and was sitting on the floor of the main room when Takaaki came home and sent me a puzzled look.

I explained the situation to him and he nodded his head in understanding before helping me in going through some of the items in the house.

"I'll bet Momoko is about to start going through the same situation" Takaaki noted to me as we were getting ready to turn in for the night.

"I can help her with some of the problem, but it's coming up with socks and boys' underpants that I'm having issues with. I mean, I know how to handle pajamas and girls' panties, maybe even an alternative for fitted sheets, but it's the other two that I just don't know nani to do about" I told him as I sat down upon our bed without remembering to even dress myself.

"Do they make a non-rubber containing elastic?" Takaaki asked of me.

"SILICONE RUBBER; oh Takaaki, you're a genius!" I exclaimed as I wrapped my arms around him in joy.

"And you're naked" he replied as we fell onto the bed and enjoyed each other.

Momoko's POV

The following morning, after sending Anzu and Akahana off to school, with a firm warning for Anzu to behave herself, Suzuko and I left for Miyako's store where I found her hard at work making socks and boys' underpants.

"Taka-chan, would you be kind enough to show our guests to the girls' tie-on underwear?" she asked of Takaaki

"Of course, Miyako-chan" he replied sweetly to her before leading us over to the requested department.

"So have you figured out an alternative for regular elastic?" I asked of Miyako while allowing Suzuko to choose her own panties.

"Hai, it's called silicone rubber as opposed to natural latex; only problem is that I have only a limited supply of the stuff and I won't be getting in another shipment for at least a week" Miyako replied as she sewed the last of her elastic into a new set of boys' underpants. "I'm going to have to put a hold on the socks for both of them until the new shipment comes in. Also, I'm replacing all of the elastics in my clothing lines with silicone rubber so as to further promote my materials as being hypo-allergenic."

"That makes sense to me" I replied as Suzuko came back over to me with some new panties in her arms.

While walking over to the counter to pay for Suzuko's new underclothes, still minus socks, we paid for the new items as Miyako left out the back door to take the new underpants up to Tomohiro.

"So have you and Luke started tearing apart your home in search of items containing latex?" Takaaki asked of me.

"There are a few items that we're changing, but predominantly since we still try to keep things natural, we've not nearly the work cut out for us that I know you and Miyako have to go through" I replied; mostly we only needed to change out the sheets and a few pillow covers since all of the furniture was wooden and we merely used tatami mats in all of the rooms while leaving the floors mostly bare wood. Even Luke's office chair in his study was wooden with a large cushion used as both the back and the seat.

"Hai, we're going to have to have all the carpeting replaced, the shower curtains, the sheets, and almost all of our clothes are going to be altered once the new silicone rubber elastic comes in, and even a lot of the office furniture is being replaced" Takaaki said with a sigh.

"The onsen" I then said in sudden realization as I pulled out my cellphone and called up Luke to let him know.

"I know, I'm having the carpeting here at the clinic replaced and am having some other items looked over. As for our onsen, I'm having someone coming out to check on that, too, but I'm pretty sure it's safe, with the exception of the fitted sheets for the futon" Luke told me and I breathed a sigh of relief.

Meanwhile, at the girl's school, Akahana was obediently making herself a veritable shadow to her shimai so as to help remind her to keep her temper in check.

While out at recess, Anzu was meditating in the shade of a tree with Akahana sitting close by when a soccer ball landed in Anzu's lap.

"Hey, Anzu-chan, can you toss us the soccer ball onegai?" one of her classmates asked.

Anzu opened her eyes as her temper began to flare at the interruption and was about to take hold of the ball in her lap to smack the boy with when Akahana spoke up, "He used his manners, so be nice and politely pass the ball to him, Anzu-chan."

Releasing a tense breath of air, Anzu passed the ball back as she said, "Here, just try to keep it on the playing field from now on; I'm trying to relax through meditation and I hate to be disturbed."

"Arigato, Anzu-chan, and I'll do my best to keep it away from you" the boy replied as he took the ball back and kicked it back onto the soccer field before chasing after it.

"Arigato for reminding me to keep my temper in check, Akahana-chan" Anzu expressed to her shimai.

"It's daijobu; I know how frustrating it can be to have a meditation session interrupted, but if you don't keep your temper in check, you're going to get suspended or expelled" Akahana replied in caution.

"Un, well, at least I can cut out early so as to head over to Obachan's kendo school; maybe I can find some way of putting my frustrations to constructive use in class there" Anzu replied as she sat back down to start meditating once again.

"Iie time for meditation, Anzu-chan; Sensei's checking her watch and is preparing to blow her whistle" Akahana said as she stood up, stretched her arms, and both of them took off running for their lining up spot.

Once everyone that had been out at recess had been called back to line up, Anzu and Akahana were dismissed to meet up with their obachan at the office.

Isamu's POV

"Hey, you two, were you good girls in school, today?" I asked of the girls once they entered the office.

"Hai, Obachan" they both replied simultaneously, though Anzu added, "Predominantly."

"And nani is that supposed to mean?" their kouchou-sensei asked firmly as she exited her office to make sure they left safely with me.

"I almost lost my temper when the soccer ball was kicked off the field and landed in my lap while I was meditating, but Akahana reminded me to keep my temper in check after the boy politely asked for the ball back" Anzu confessed.

"That was a good thing to do for your shimai, Akahana-chan" kouchou-sensei commended Akahana for.

"Arigato, Kouchou-sensei; it's hard enough to be without Suzuko, I don't want to have to come to school completely alone due to Anzu's short temper getting her expelled" Akahana replied honestly.

"How is Suzuko doing anyways?" I asked of her.

"She's still some red marks and spotting on her from the elastic bands in her unmentionables, but Mama is continuously applying cortisone ointment to them so as to get them to heal. Also, she and mama went to Miyako-san's store today to buy some new unmentionables that don't contain any elastic" Akahana replied.

"Unmentionables?" asked Kouchou-sensei in confusion and I just chuckled.

"Akahana believes that girls' underwear should never be publicly discussed and so refers to them as 'unmentionables' so as not to…well, mention them" I explained.

"Ah, I see; well I do hope she's feeling better soon. Did Momoko ever say nani was wrong?" Kouchou asked of me.

"Hai, she's allergic to latex" I replied honestly and Kouchou-sensei looked at me in surprise.

"I'll have our custodian do a clean sweep of the premises to ensure that as much latex products are removed as soon as possible" she replied honestly.

"It's not something that can be completely avoided; anything made of natural rubber will contain latex. It'll probably be easier if she were to wear vinyl gloves and probably even utilizes a face mask to keep it away from her face. She may even have to be home-schooled and I know how much she enjoys being able to play with her friends, so it's anybody's guess as to how to deal with it" I replied before checking my watch. "Come on, girls; it's time to go."

I then directed the girls out to my car and we drove over to my kendo school.

"Kon'nichiwa, class; I'm pleased to see some of you are already wearing your vestments, but they won't be needed for a while still. First, I'd like to introduce you all to your new classmate, Utonium Anzu. Now, if you'll all take up your kendo swords we will begin by learning your beginning stance" I instructed my students and they all took up nani they thought was the way to properly stand with their weapons at the ready.

It surprised me that Anzu was the only one with her body positioned almost sideways and with her hand poised over her sword's hilt as though in preparation to draw.

"Admittedly, many of you are in the correct stance to start _battling_ your opponent, but I'd like you all to take a look at Anzu-chan here and note that this truly is the proper _beginning_ stance. You must first learn how to _draw_ your weapon before you can do battle with an opponent" I noted to the class and soon everyone took up imitating Anzu's stance.

"The draw must be made with one smooth, fluid movement and up into the fighting position" I told them as I demonstrated this to them a couple of times. "Now, let's see if any of you can draw your weapons accordingly."

Many attempted to draw their swords, but many either dropped them at a certain point or they never even finished clearing their sheaths. Anzu and two others properly drew their weapons and took up their second stance.

"Daijobu, let's go over this one more time and then we'll try again. Tai, Eri, and Anzu; I'd like to see ten repetitions from you three while I address your classmates' issues" I instructed them all and the three began their repetitions while I helped the others in trying to draw their swords.

While showing the others how to draw their swords, I carefully kept an eye on the other three when I noticed Tai turn to smile mischievously at Anzu and purposely turned so that when he drew his sword he smacked her in the backside.

"Hey! Why I ought to..." Anzu said as she started to lose control of her temper.

"Let it go, Anzu; iie sense getting yourself in trouble with Sensei over Tai's antics" Eri cautioned her.

"Tai, if you do that one more time, you'll be spending the rest of the class sitting on the sidelines" I warned him as Anzu turned back to continue her repetitions; I could tell that it wasn't easy for her to keep her temper in place and really wanted to break Tai's head open with her sword instead.

"Sensei's pet" Tai then loudly whisper at her and Anzu turned to glare at him before turning back to make her eighth repetition while feeling her temper on the verge of getting out of control.

I had my back turned to the three of them when Tai hit Anzu with his sword again. I was alerted to matters when I heard the sounds of wooden blades striking together and turned just in time to see Tai on the floor and Anzu with her sword poised in the striking position.

"Anzu, don't you dare…" I warned her but she brought her sword down upon Tai's shoulder.

I ran over and checked the extent of his injury to see a large bruise developing while Tai wailed in pain.

"Maybe that'll teach him not to strike me across my o-shiri with his sword" Anzu said firmly as I turned to look up at her.

"Go to my office and wait there until your parents arrive" I fussed at Anzu in equal firmness while Kanta was calling up Luke and Momoko as well as Tai's parents.

The rest of the students were sitting on their designated cushions while reading their bushido books when Luke, Momoko, and Tai's parents arrived. I explained to them nani had happened, but Tai's parents demanded proper action be taken against Anzu for her attack upon their son.

Transforming into Blade, Oniichan healed Tai's shoulder but his parents were still indignant upon Anzu being punished for her actions when I asked of them, "And nani of Tai's actions against Anzu? Remember, he did strike her twice across the o-shiri despite my warning him after the first time."

"A strike across the backside is hardly a mortal wound, but if that girl had been holding a real sword, she have cut Tai's arm off!" Tai's father shouted in anger.

"We demand that that child be severely punished for her actions against Tai!" Tai's mother added with equal indignation.

Luke had already left the room to head for my office where Anzu sat with her arms crossed in a stubborn manner until their eyes met. Taking hold of her hand, Luke led Anzu back out and over to where we all stood.

"Anzu, I expect you to apologize for striking Tai on the shoulder with your sword" Luke told her with firmness.

"Why should I? He struck me twice across the o-shiri with his sword and I just returned the attack; it's a fair move on the battlefield" Anzu argued.

"This is a classroom not a battlefield, now I told you to apologize" Luke told her a little more firmly.

"Not until he apologizes first for striking me on the o-shiri…twice" Anzu fired back.

To be honest, it was a fair argument to me, but this was between Anzu and her father right now and thus was iie place for me to intervene.

"Anzu…" Momoko cautioned her.

"Daijobu…Tai, gomen nasai for striking you a blow upon your shoulder after you smacked me twice in the o-shiri" Anzu apologized, though a bit forcefully.

"Apology _not _accepted" Tai replied hatefully.

Taking a deep breath, Anzu repeated her apology in a genuine manner, but Tai still refused to accept it.

"And we're not going to accept it until she receives a bare-bottomed spanking, either" Tai's mother said and his father nodded his head in agreement.

"Now wait a second here. Let me see if I understand this correctly. Your son deliberately struck one of his fellow classmates in the backside, twice, and the second was even after I cautioned him not to. Anzu returns one strike upon Tai's shoulder and now, not only had Anzu been made to apologize, twice, but now you even expect her to be spanked for it. Is this correct?" I stated so as to clarify the situation.

"Hai, that's correct" Tai's mother replied.

"Then you've got some gall! As far as I'm concerned both of them should be punished for their misbehavior and disruption of my class, but that's hardly the issue here. Tai should also be apologizing to Anzu for his hitting her two times and both of them should be made to apologize to the rest of the class. Now as to whether or not two strikes across the o-shiri being a mortal blow compared to a strike upon the shoulder is not part of this argument since they are all using bamboo kendo swords as opposed to real ones. Two strikes outweighs one strike from where I stand and therefore Tai is in the greater wrong and even then, both of them disobeyed me, their sensei, and therefore should both be made to apologize to me as well as the rest of the class" I returned in frustration.

Tapping me on the arm, I turned to see Anzu as she bowed before me and said, "Gomen nasai for my disobedience and for disrupting the class, Sensei; it won't happen again."

"Apology accepted, and do try better to control your temper. If it ever happens again, just let me know so that I can handle the issue personally" I told her and she bowed in agreement once again.

Iie sound came from either Tai or his parents, so I asked them, "Well are you going to apologize for your misbehavior or not, Tai?"

"Our son is not apologizing for anything until that brat receives her punishment" Tai's mother said firmly.

"Then your son is not welcome back to my classroom. Now kindly show yourselves to the door" I said firmly.

"But, Sensei, I was defenseless when Anzu attacked me" Tai tried to argue.

"That doesn't matter; you not only misbehaved by striking your classmate twice, but you also disobeyed me when you struck her that second time" I replied.

"And we're still not leaving until she's given her spanking" Tai's father said stubbornly.

"I should have smacked him across the head; it'd have been an equal blow" Anzu grumbled smartly.

"Anzu, mind your manners" Luke said firmly.

"Oh, and now she even makes a smart-mouth insult against our son; we're waiting" Tai's mother said.

I saw Momoko trying to resist the urge to extract her hairbrush from her purse so as to get it over and done with when Anzu shouted out, "Un, well you can just wait until Hell freezes over!"

Luke tapped her firmly on the mouth and we all turned to stare up at him in shock as Anzu cupped her hands over her mouth and he said just shy of shouting, "I told you to mind your manners, wakai josei; remember your bushido."

It was a well-placed action upon Luke's part, but still, he never raised his hand or even struck his musume-tachi ever before. The tears began to build up in Anzu's eyes and she started sniffling before turning and dashing into my office where she began crying quite heavily.

"It's about time you showed a little backbone" Tai's father remarked.

Luke felt bad enough as it was but this was rubbing salt into an open wound so that I turned around and told them, "Leave now, or you won't be able to walk out of here. This is not a threat upon my part, but a caution. Luke's my oniisan and I know him too well; you've just tripped the wire to ignite his already smoldering fuse and right now, you're in harm's way."

"I said not until we see that child receive her spanking!" Tai's father shouted in my face.

"Luke, go take care of Anzu" Momoko told him as she stepped in between them as Luke was now looking as though he was about to give Tai's parents flying lessons through the windows.

As Luke and I headed for my office, Momoko turned to face Tai's parents as they asked, "So is she to receive her spanking or not?"

"As Anzu said, though quite inappropriately as she's not to speak to her elders in such a manner which is why she was smacked, 'When Hell freezes over'. She will be disciplined when your son is disciplined and since it's quite obvious that you're not going to take any action, we aren't either. Gomen nasai, but I have a little girl and husband to take care of, so do kindly take Isamu's advice and show yourselves the door" Momoko said lightly.

"Now see here…" Tai's father started to say as he grabbed a hold of her arm only to get a strong punch in the stomach from Momoko and he dropped to his knees in pain.

"By the way, that's called self-defense as I found your placing your hand upon my arm to be a physical threat" Momoko told him firmly.

Momoko's POV

When I entered Isamu's office, I found Luke holding Anzu as she was crying into his chest and he was trying to settle her down while apologizing for striking her as he also explained why she was struck.

"I saw nani happened out there just now, Momoko-chan, nice punch" Isamu praised me.

"Hai, well, I wouldn't be surprised if we wind up with their trying to issue us a lawsuit against Anzu's striking Tai, my punching his father in the stomach, and for your dismissing their son from attending your classes" I replied with a sigh.

"Knowing those two, I wouldn't be surprised. Which is why I have everything on tape and am calling up Shiimasutou-san's office" Isamu said as she stepped behind her desk and picked up the business card that had the Kaarii's father's phone number on it.

We went home once Anzu had cried herself to sleep and Luke carried her into his office where he sat holding her until she awoke from her nap and they then began to read their bushido books together, with a strong focus on how to behave towards one's superiors and elders.

To our surprise, we didn't have to worry about a lawsuit being held against us after all. When they heard who our lawyer was, they dropped the whole matter and Tai was sent to another kendo school.

As for Suzuko's sock issue, that was also soon taken care of as Miyako arrived on our doorstep with a package of new socks in her arms for Suzuko. And since removing latex from her clothing line, Miyako's business doubled.

But of course, as one problem is solved another emerges, and this time it would be for Kaarii and Ami and their little Phantom Thieves…

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><p><strong>Carly: This was a sizable chapter.<strong>

**TCW: So much material to cover, but at least it's done.**

**Carly: Good point. But nani is the deal with ending on a comment like that?!**

**TCW: I thought it would make for a great lead up to the next chapter.**

**Carly: Which is?**

**Next time…**

**Kaede: These missions are getting harder and harder to find.**

**Kaarii: Not to mention even more dangerous.**

**TCW: All this and still much more to come.**

**Carly and Momoko: Just be sure to leave us some nice reviews, onegai!**

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><p><strong>Author's Note: I also wish to apologize for taking so long in getting this chapter up. I was going back over some of the older chapters and editing them, but as they are too many and I've taken to also writing a new story, "PPZ Fairy Tales", I've decided to postpone some of the edits for later so as to return to continuing this one. I do thank all of you for your patience.<strong>


	81. Troubled Phantoms

**Arigato for the grand reviews, everyone! And sorry it took so long, but these new chapters take some time. But now, without further ado, it's time we joined our heroes as they must deal with a couple of...**

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><p><strong>Troubled Phantoms<strong>

Kaarii and Ami were having their own issues with their families, or, to be more precise, they were dealing with issues with their little Phantom Thieves. Try as they might to remain attentive, Kaede and Hyosuke kept falling asleep in the middle of class and frustrating their sensei, but since their grades were still amongst the highest in the class, she'd just heave a sigh and shake her head at them.

"We can't keep falling asleep in class like that" complained Hyosuke to Kaede as they were walking home from school.

"I know. Nani we need is an informant to let us in on when and where crimes are to occur so that we can right them and get home with plenty of time to get enough sleep" Kaede said in agreement.

"Un, but who can we ask to help without giving our identities away?" Hyosuke inquired.

"I don't know; maybe Mom can recommend someone" Kaede replied with a sigh as they entered the bakery in which she lived.

"Kon'nichiwa, you two" Kaarii called to them from behind the counter while cashing out a customer.

"Kon'nichiwa, Mom" Kaede replied.

"Kon'nichiwa, Jones-san" Hyosuke said as he followed Kaede up to the upstairs apartment to get started on their homework.

"I see Sensei finally decided to release you two" Hotaka greeted them while helping Hikari with her schoolwork.

"Don't rub it in, Hotaka-chan" Kaede replied in a bit of a miffed tone of voice.

"Try again, Hikari; you were really close this time" Hotaka then said as he turned back to continue helping Hikari with her spelling words.

"Nani was the word again?" Hikari asked with a sigh.

"The word is 'arigato'" Hotaka informed her.

"Arigato – A-R-I-G-A, uh, T-O; is that right?" Hikari asked nervously.

"Hai, very good; I knew you could do it!" Hotaka praised her as he gave her a hug from the side.

"Arigato for helping me, Hotaka-chan" Hikari expressed appreciatively.

"Now, let's move on to your math assignment" Hotaka said encouragingly only for Hikari to let out a groan.

"The sooner you get it done, the sooner you can get to watching your cartoons" Kaede told her.

"Un, but I hate math, especially stupid word problems" Hikari said as she pulled out her math book.

Kaarii soon came up the stairs carrying a tray with four pastries and some milk which she set down upon the table for the children to snack on when she noticed Hikari having trouble with her math problems and just shook her head. Hikari was the one who had the hardest time learning despite her studying and it puzzled her mother so much.

Kaarii's POV

"Oh forget it!" Hikari shouted as she slammed her pencil upon the table and turned away with an angry look on her face and tears in her eyes.

"Let's try a different approach, Hikari-chan" Hotaka then told her with patience as he took up her word problems and began to read over and re-write them.

"She's not going to learn them that way" Kaede cautioned.

"Who cares how she learns them as long as she learns them?" Hotaka returned as he soon turned Hikari back to her math problems.

"Oh, this makes much more sense now; thanks Hotaka-chan" Hikari said appreciatively.

Quietly signaling for Hotaka to come over to me, I knelt down as I asked him in an almost whispered voice, "Nani did you do that was so different?"

"I re-wrote her math problems so that they pertained to baking. I don't get it myself, but for some reason when it comes to cooking and baking, she seems to comprehend her math problems much better" Hotaka told me and I nodded my head in understanding before letting him return to sit beside his imouto as he watched over her while also working on his own homework.

"I wonder if she'd benefit from taking lessons at St. Marie's Academy" noted Clemintina to me.

"She's not old enough to attend culinary school" I answered as I returned to the bakery to get ready to close up for the rest of the day.

"Sayonara, Jones-san" Hyosuke called out as I was packing up the last of the leftover pastries to be picked up by the local shelter for the needy.

"Sayonara, Hyosuke-chan; tell your mom I said, 'Konnichiwa'" I called after him as he headed out the door, looked both ways, and then crossed the street to return home.

"Well, that's the last of the dishes and trays" Clemintina told me as she and Sherbet returned from washing the dishes.

"And I've got the last of the pastries and cakes ready for baking in the morning" Josh told me with a yawn.

"Great, and the shelter's truck is pulling up right now" I replied eagerly as we picked up the boxes and began to carry them out to the truck; the great thing about donating the pastries is that not only did they not go to waste, but we could deduct half of their cost from our taxes which is why I kept such strong notes on nani was donated.

Once done, we then locked up and headed up the stairs to make dinner for our little family.

"Mom, can I talk to you privately before bed?" Kaede inquired of me.

"Of course" I replied with a smile to her.

After dinner, Josh and I entered the furoba to get cleaned up along with the children when I noticed Hotaka diligently washing Hikari while Kaede sat off to the side on her own.

"Nani is this, family segregation or something?" I asked of them.

"Iie, I'm just letting Hotaka pay more attention to Hikari's needs since she needs more help than I do. And I don't want her to scrub my back, either" Kaede replied honestly; the last time Hikari tried to help her shimai get washed up, she'd scrubbed a bit too hard.

"Hikari, you have to wash yourself down there, too" Hotaka then gently fussed at her.

"I thought I did" she replied.

"I don't mean just your legs and feet" he told her.

"I'll handle that, Hotaka" I said as I walked over to have Hikari stand up and place her hands upon my shoulders so I could wash her nether regions and letting Hotaka get back to paying more attention to getting himself cleaned up.

Later, while in our room and getting dressed in our pajamas, Josh noted to me, "I'm getting a bit concerned with Hikari's inability to comprehend so much."

"I am, too, but Hotaka seems to be able to find a way to help her with so much" I replied honestly.

"Hai, but I can't help but feel that she's holding him back from achieving his highest potential since he's spending so much time and effort on her" Josh said.

"You wouldn't know it by his last report card" I noted to Josh; he and Kaede had straight A's, but Hikari had a B- as her best grade while getting mostly C's and a couple of F's.

"I suppose, but I'm still worried about her; she may need a special school or something at some point in time" Josh told me and I had to admit that he was right.

"Well, I promised to speak with Kaede privately, so we best get to tucking them all in for the night" I then said, though not to change the subject.

We went to tuck Hikari in first, only to find her missing from her bed. Thinking that she was in the oteari, we decided to move on to Hotaka which was also where we found Hikari. The two of them were snuggled up together and already asleep in his bed and he was holding onto her protectively.

Josh and I just looked at each other and shrugged our shoulders in defeat before tucking the sheets around both of them to keep them warm before kissing them oyasumi.

"I'll be waiting for you in our room" Josh then whispered to me as he softly closed Hotaka's door behind us and I nodded my head in agreement before heading on to Kaede's room alone.

I gently knocked on her door and slid into her room to find her sitting up on her bed and patiently waiting. I closed her door and walked over to sit down beside her.

"I know sensei called to tell you that I fell asleep in class again today" Kaede told me.

"Well, leading a double-life isn't easy and you're leading a triple-life" I told her in understanding.

"Hyosuke and I got to talking today and we think that our missions might be a bit easier if we could find someone to act as an informant. The only problem is: who can we trust to help us?" Kaede continued.

"That is a puzzle. I only wish I could think of a possible solution, but even I'm clueless" I replied.

"_That makes three of us_" spoke Ichigo from her cage.

"Are you going to go on a mission hunt tonight?" I then asked of Kaede.

"Hai, but I don't intend to stay out past midnight if I can help it" Kaede replied as she took up her rosary and placed it around her neck like a necklace. "Forgive the sins I am about to commit for justice is their purpose" she then said in a prayer-like manner as a bright light enshrouded her and thus keeping me from seeing her transformation.

Kaede's POV

My pajamas disappeared off of me as a white leotard replaced them and a pink miniskirt with black trim wrapped itself around my waist. My hair went from brown to black and it went from being worn down to being tied in a bun. A white mask appeared upon my face and was soon adorned with a pink Mardi-Gras design. My bare feet were then engulfed by platform heel boots that had a white upper section and pink lower section with matching laces. White angel-like wings with a pink design upon the backs of them then formed upon my back that soon went from being spread wide to wrapping themselves around me like a cape.

"May the Eternal One guide me this night" I then said as I made ready to leave out my window.

"I'll be waiting for you" I heard Mom say and I turned to wave to her before taking off into the night.

Kaitou Black Forest Cake soon joined me and asked, "So did your mom have any ideas?"

"Iie, she didn't; did yours?" I asked in return.

"Iie, not really; her best suggestion was a police band radio, but let's face it, that's not feasible" he replied and I nodded my head in agreement.

"Maybe we should come up with some kind of a community board for people to leave us notes for when they've been wronged" I then suggested.

"And the crooks would see it and tear both the notes and the board itself up" Black Forest Cake told me.

"Good point" I replied with a sigh of defeat.

We soon landed on the roof of the local precinct and cautiously peered down through a high window. Inside sat a young girl about twice my age while behind the desk sat a police officer talking on the phone. I then carefully reached down and pushed it slightly open so that we could hear nani was being said.

"But Officer-sensei, if we don't get back the stolen watch by noon tomorrow, our client is going to sue my ojiisan for everything he's got" the girl said in desperation.

"I know and I really would like to help you, but without some kind of identification of the perpetrator, you're basically asking us to find a needle in a haystack" the officer replied sympathetically.

"But how hard can it be to find such a rare pocket watch? I mean, it's a one of a kind time piece" the girl said further.

Just then the phone rang again, "Moshi-moshi, ah Chief…un, she's sitting in my office right now. Un, a 24-carat gold pocket watch with solid pearl on the front, mother of pearl inlay, ivory face, with onyx numerals, and sterling silver hands. That's nani I thought. Iie, I'll tell her." With a sigh he hung up the phone and said, "That was the Chief and even he said that despite an extensive search of online auction sites, local auctions, and even a search of local pawn shops, we've come back empty-handed. Gomen nasai, but I'm afraid that you'll probably never see the watch ever again."

At this the young girl jumped up and ran crying out of the office and soon left the station altogether.

"That's going to be like trying to find a needle in a haystack" I noted to Black Forest Cake.

"Worse than that; more like trying to find a needle in a hayloft" he replied to further accentuate the difficulty of the mission.

"Let's follow her; maybe we can find some clues or something" I then noted to Black Forest Cake and we took flight to follow after the young girl.

We soon lighted to the roof of the building and carefully dropped down to a narrow ledge where a window was open to listen as the girl was speaking with her grandfather, "…I can't believe they won't even try to search the shop for fingerprints or anything."

"Now, now, you can't blame them for not wishing to get involved in minor crimes like this when they have much bigger issues to contend with" the elderly shinshi said.

"But they barely lifted a finger to do anything! You know how powerful a man that the watch's owner is; he'll take the shop and everything we own!" the girl said as she broke out crying once again.

"I know, but we must have faith. If justice is to be carried out and the watch returned to us, then the Great Kami will find a way" noted the elderly shinshi as he set a comforting hand upon his magomusume's shoulder.

"I do hope you're right" she replied and the two of them rose up to turn in for the night.

"This is serious" I noted to Black Forest Cake.

"Hai, perhaps too big for us to take care of on our own" he replied.

"Then may the Great Kami watch over and guide us in our mission" I replied as we climbed back up to the roof.

"Pink Angel Cake, be reasonable; it's almost ten thirty!" Black Forest Cake told me after checking his watch.

"Then we only have ninety minutes to figure out who stole the watch, find them, take the watch back, and return it to these folks, so let's get to work" I replied, though even I had to admit that it was a rather daunting task.

"We're not going to be able to do all that in only one and a half hours!" he told me.

"Not if you keep remaining negative and argumentative like that! Now, either help me, or go home and let me handle this by myself" I fussed back.

"Fine, who needs school anyways" he replied with a sigh.

"We can always take a make-up test" I told him.

"Wait a second; that pawn shop next door has a camera in the window" Black Forest Cake then noted to me.

"Let's go take a look!" I said excitedly as we ducked into the pawn shop.

"A little early for Halloween, isn't it?" asked the man behind the counter.

"Gomen nasai, but I was wondering if you keep any of the recordings from your window camera" I explained.

"Sure, buy why on earth would you want to see anything from that thing; nothing ever happens around here" he inquired of me.

I then went into detail on nani we had learned and then told him, "…so we're in hopes that your camera may have picked up some kind of suspicious activity in the area at the time in question that may point us in the right direction."

"So nani are you; juvenile detectives or something?" asked the man with a chuckle.

"Iie, they're Kaitou-tachi, now show them the video before the Great Kami curses us for our lack of cooperation with bad business" added an elderly shinshi from the back of the shop.

We were permitted to see the video and, sure enough, it gave us all of the information we had been searching for.

"Not too many vans in the area and even fewer with 'Kumo No Su' written on the side" I noted to Black Forest Cake.

"You two do NOT want to get involved in this one even if you do have the Great Kami's blessing on your side. Those people are dangerous and won't even hesitate to kill little kids like you" the younger man said.

"You'd be better off getting the Powerpuffs Z to back you up" noted the elderly shinshi to us.

"Hai, but if we don't act now, then the watch's owner is going to hold the repair shop liable and will take those poor people for everything they own" I replied before turning and heading for the door with Black Forest Cake following.

"Don't you think we should take their advice and call for backup?" Black Forest Cake asked of me as we climbed the fire escape stairs of an apartment building next door.

"In case you haven't notice, when in our Phantom Thief uniforms, we don't exactly carry our compacts with us" I noted in return as we took flight and glided to our next destination.

"Note to self: Start carrying a cellphone" Black Forest Cake then said aloud.

"Good luck there; my mom won't let me have a phone" I groused as just about everyone else in school had one; I was even teased on occasion because I didn't have a cellphone.

We soon found the van in question. Not only did it have 'Kumo No Su' written on the side, but it was written on a spider's web with a black widow kumo sitting just beneath the words.

"Rather spooky looking emblem to place on a van" Black forest Cake noted to me.

"Sadistic is more like it" I replied as we then headed for the building it was parked in front of.

"It's almost midnight" Black Forest Cake then whispered to me.

"I know, I'm feeling the fatigue, too. But we really must complete this mission or we'll fail not only those relying upon us, but we'll fail the Great Kami, also" I replied with a yawn.

"Hey, there's an open window up there, maybe we can use it to sneak inside" he told me and so we used my egg-beater/grappling hook to climb up to the window.

"This place is a veritable black market!" I exclaimed quietly.

"A high-end one at that" Black Forest Cake agreed as we noticed the men walking around with automatic weapons in their hands and everything from priceless antiques to super expensive computers sitting out on tables around the perimeter and center of the warehouse.

Using a pair of opera glasses, I scanned the items on display for the watch when I spotted it on a table in the far corner of the warehouse and tapped Black Forest Cake so as to whisper to him the location of the watch. Passing him my opera glasses, he then spotted the item and then returned the glasses to me.

"They're not just going to let us walk in there and take back that watch" I noted to him.

"Iie, but there's a skylight that's a bit closer to our destination" he then mentioned to me and we climbed up to the roof and ran to the skylight in question.

When we reached the skylight, I began to reach for it just as Black Forest Cake called out to me, "Iie, wait…" but I was knocked out by an electrical jolt.

We woke up four hours later in a room, stripped of all but our wings and masks, when a deep voice said, "Ah, I see our little winged-avengers have awakened; too bad it won't be for long."

"Where are our clothes and nani do you intend to do to us?!" I demanded.

"Your uniforms are right here. The only reason we allowed you to keep your garish masks is because we decided to let the police remove them after they find your lifeless bodies at the bottom of the river. As for your wings, we don't know how they're attached to you, but they are attached" the man said as he stepped into the light.

"So why strip us bare like this?" Black Forest Cake asked and I quickly realized that I wasn't the only one and tried not to look.

"Because I intend to keep your uniforms as collector's pieces to sell to the highest bidder; after all, it's been over a hundred years since anyone has seen Phantom Thieves even if they are just children who don't know how to watch out for certain traps. Also, this way you can't access any of your tools to escape" the man replied as he turned and left the room.

"Any ideas as to how we can go about getting out of this one, Pink Angel Cake?" Black Forest Cake asked of me.

"It would help if I could reach my uniform" I replied as I folded my wings around me like a robe. "Would you onegai cover yourself?!"

"We're about to die and you're worried about being seen in the buff?! At least this stupid cage they locked us in isn't wired; too bad we don't have a bobby-pin to try picking the lock with" he then commented.

"Wait, we do!" I replied as I removed the pins from my hair so that it dropped down before passing them over to him.

"You should wear your hair down more often; you're a lot prettier that way" Black Forest Cake complimented me and I blushed even deeper.

He then began to use the pins to pick the lock and when it finally sprung open, we jumped out and quickly dressed. We then jumped back up into the cage and used it to gain access to the air duct that was over our heads.

"You know, now's a fine time to think of it, but nani if they had that room wired with a camera and just watched us escape that cage and the room?" Black Forest Cake asked in a whisper.

"Can we just focus on getting back that watch and then getting out of here?" I asked of him in disbelief.

We soon arrived at the vent that was just over the table we needed that the watch resided on. Using a length of string and a bead of honey mixed with buttercream, I carefully lowered it down until I managed to stick it to the watch. I then pulled the string back up and had the watch in my hand before pocketing it.

"Now to get out of here" I whispered to Black Forest Cake when we heard a bunch of shouting from below.

"Those brats somehow managed to escape! Find and execute them!" we heard someone shout out and Black Forest Cake signaled for us to remain still and quiet.

"Hey, that watch I stole is gone!" the same person shouted out and he turned to look up towards the air vent; the fierce look on the man's face made me want to scream out in fear, but Black Forest Cake clamped a hand over my mouth to keep me quiet.

Two other men approached with machine guns in their hands and they soon aimed them at the air vent until someone else yelled out, "You're not perforating the air ducts! I just had them replaced!"

"But sir, nani if they slipped up into them and are currently hiding up there?" asked another.

"Their wings would prevent them from fitting into the air vents. Besides, all exits are now blocked and I have men on the roof watching for them from up there" he then said as everyone dispersed and began to search the building.

"Now nani do we do?" I asked of Black Forest Cake.

"I'm not too sure, but we certainly can't stay in here" he replied.

"Why aren't you men on the roof like I told you?" we then heard a familiar voice ask.

"Because one of those Powerpuffs was flying overhead and we didn't wish to attract any unwanted attention by being up there" another person replied.

We didn't bother to stick around to hear the rest of the conversation as we took off for the roof vent and soon slipped out into the open. Once out of the air vent, we ran for the edge of the roof and took flight only to be fired upon and we soon had to land in an empty alley to avoid getting shot.

"Are you daijobu, Pink Angel Cake?" Black Forest Cake asked of me after I tumbled down onto the ground.

"Hai, my foot slipped out from underneath me" I replied as he helped me to stand back up.

"Good, then that just leaves me to finish you off personally" said the man who had been talking to us when we were locked up in that cage.

"Now nani do we do?" I asked of Black Forest Cake in concern.

"I don't know about you, but I'm not going down without a fight" Black Forest Cake replied as he took up a battle-ready stance and I followed his example.

The man then removed a wakizashi from his side and began to approach as we braced for our demise when he soon froze up in complete terror as he exclaimed, "By the Great Kami!" He then turned and took off running and both Black Forest Cake and I turned to look at each other in confusion before turning to look behind us and heard the sound of someone faking the chirps of cicada.

"There are iie cicadas in the autumn!" I shouted and soon both Bridgette and Blade stepped out of their hiding places with sheepish grins on their faces, and weapons in their hands.

After giving us the once over to make sure we were unharmed, they rose up and told us, "We'll see you at the lab once you finish your mission."

Black Forest Cake and I then left to the watch repair shop where we quietly slipped the stolen watch along with a note of explanation onto the young girl's nightstand before slipping back out the open window to head for the lab.

"You know, we really should take the information we learned today to the police" I quietly noted to Black Forest Cake.

"It wouldn't do any good. By the time the police get there, those men will have emptied out the place, repainted their van, and moved on to another location. People like that plan on events like last night occurring" he told me with a sigh. "Besides, right now my concern is for when our moms decide to warm our backsides with their hands."

"We'll be lucky if that's all we get" I replied with a sigh of my own. "Um, about earlier today..."

"I won't say a word about us being undressed if you don't" he replied with a blush in his cheeks.

"Deal" I said in agreement as we landed at the lab, even though it was still under construction.

We were soon shown to an empty ward where our Moms sat waiting for us. Once the door had been closed, they stood up and gestured for us to take the seats.

Kaarii's POV

"Gomen nasai for being out so late, Mama" Kaede apologized.

"Do you have any idea as to how worried we were about you two?" Ami asked of them.

"We're waiting for an explanation" I told them.

They told us the whole story, though they seemed to be withholding some piece of information, but we let it go as it didn't really seem that important.

"We'd have called in, but our Kaitou uniforms don't have communicators the way our Powerpuff uniforms do" Hyosuke told us.

Ami released a strong sigh before turning and saying to me, "They do have a valid point there."

"Hai, I suppose they do" I replied. "Very well, you escape punishment this time, but you are getting baths; you're both just downright filthy."

Kaede's POV

Much to our chagrin, we were taken into the bathroom, stripped bare, and scrubbed by our Moms before being rinsed off and placed into the o-furo together.

"And here I was hoping we wouldn't have to see one another in the buff for quite a few more years" I quietly said while sulking.

"I heard that" Mom said as she crossed her arms on the edge of the o-furo.

"I thought there was something missing from their story" Mizatama-san said while doing the same.

"We're waiting" Mom then said and with a strong blush in our cheeks, we told them.

"I'm calling Blade" Mizatama-san said.

"Don't bother; he's already taken care of it" Mom called to her.

"Nani do you mean?" Mizatama-san asked.

"He went back after we watched our little Kaitous leave; needless to say, that place iie longer exists and those men went begging to be placed behind bars" Mom replied.

"Very well, then" Mizatama-san said as she returned to kneel beside the o-furo.

"You know, we just may have to start talking about these two getting married in the future" Mom then said with a grin.

"You are so right; they do make quite the kawaii couple, don't they?" Mizatama-san asked with a bright smile.

"MOM!" both Hyosuke and I whined in protest.

In the end, we were finally allowed to have our very own smartphones as long as we agreed to call in whenever the need would arise for us to have to be out late. And, interestingly enough, we even found a secret informant. Though said individual merely went by the name 'K', they would send us text messages to alert us to our missions.

Momoko's POV

All turned out well for the little Phantom Thieves, but it would be Kaoru who would have the hardest time as she learned of the great secret behind her little Mermaids...

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><p><strong>Carly: And once again, you're ending on a cliffhanger?! You're going to drive me nuts with those, TCW.<strong>

**TCW: I am to please.  
><strong>

**Carly: So what's in store for the next chapter?  
><strong>

**Next time...  
><strong>

**Kaoru: I learn of Aqua Regina's hidden agenda for my babies.  
><strong>

**Isamu: My boys, too.  
><strong>

**TCW: All this and still more coming soon.  
><strong>

**Momoko and Carly: Just be sure to leave us some reviews or we may think you've all lost interest and decide not to continue.**

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><p><strong>Author's Note: Many of you, by now, may have figure out what 'Kumo No Su' means, but for those who don't, it means 'Spider Web'.<br>**


	82. Mermaids: The Next Generation

**As always, I thank all of you who have left me with some great reviews. For this chapter, we will be joining Kaoru as she learns what the future holds for her little ones…**

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><p><strong>Mermaids: The Next Generation<strong>

Rikiya and I still had our hands full with our three girls as, even though they knew better, they still liked to find ways to slip into the water to swim with the marine-life. I was frequently reprimanding them on the need to keep their mermaid forms a secret for fear of their being turned into science experiments, or worse.

"Honestly, girls, if you do not stop sneaking into the aquarium, one of these days you're going to get caught by someone other than me or your father and they will not only report you to the authorities, but you could also wind up on a laboratory table to be dissected" I fussed at them after another round of spankings before hugging them to let them know that I loved them and only disciplined them for disobeying me.

""Your mother is right, girls. I know you like to swim in the water, but if you're not careful, the consequences could be catastrophic" Rikiya said as he and I put them to bed for the night.

Hugging and kissing our girls oyasumi, Rikiya and I then headed for the furoba where we took a nice hot, sensuous bath together. From there we headed for bed for a goodnight's sleep and I began to dream.

~Enters Dream Sequence~

I found myself freefalling into the ocean and yet made iie splash as I entered the water and completely submerged, going deeper and deeper as I went. Soon, I came to a rest and kept trying to swim up towards the surface but was unable to even propel myself in any direction but just kept spinning in a circle. I then realized that I was breathing normally despite being underwater.

"I can breathe; must be in my Powerpuff Mermaid Z form even though I'm not wearing my uniform…or anything at all for that matter" I noted to myself when a bright light began glowing in front of me.

I covered my eyes to dampen the light's intensity and when it finally went away, there in front of me stood a rather familiar looking woman that I'd not seen since my girls were only six.

"Greetings, Kaoru-chan; it has been such a long time since we last spoke" she said to me and I looked at her in surprise.

"Aqua Regina-sama, care to explain nani is going on here?" I asked of her in wonderment.

"Simple, I'm speaking to you in a dream; you're really still on dry land and sleeping in your bed" she told me with a light-hearted smile.

"I guess that explains why I'm also quite indecent" I replied as I indicated that I was in the buff; it was a hot summer night.

"Iie worries; you've nothing to hide from me. But on a more serious note, I called you here to talk with you about your mermaids" she told me and I instantly went on the defense; I may have been naked, but I was still willing to fight her to keep my girls safe.

"Nani about my girls?" I demanded as I took up a protective stance before this apparition.

"It is time for them to fulfill their destinies and rebuild the seven undersea kingdoms and to help regenerate the mermaid population" Aqua Regina explained only to further confuse me.

"And just how in the world are three girls supposed to reconstruct seven kingdoms and just nani exactly do you mean regenerate the population; they're barely ten years of age nor are they rabbits, you know" I inquired.

"Iie, I mean that there are more mermaids already walking amongst you, but they, like your musume-tachi, live with their identities in secret. If the kingdoms are rebuilt, they will be able to return to their homes and thus will help to regenerate population" Regina explained to me and I began to think on it.

"I do remember your saying something about there being mermaids on the land back when I was pregnant with them. So does this mean that there are other mermaid princesses to help with rebuilding the remaining four kingdoms?" I asked trying to understand all of this information.

"Not yet, but with your girls' direction, the others will be able to help with the reconstruction and, though your musume-tachi, will come the next seven princesses who will take over the kingdoms for their mothers and thus lead the mer-people into managing the seven kingdoms, but they will still require your guidance since, as you already pointed out, they are only children" Aqua Regina further explained to me and I nodded my head in final comprehension.

"So now comes the hard part: I have to tell my girls this bit of news" I said as I began to feel myself tear up.

"And the parents of the Panthalessa Boys Z" Regina added as an afterthought.

"The Panthalessa Boys Z; nani do they have to do with it?" I asked with minor trepidation.

"Your musume-tachi can't give birth to the future mermaid princesses without husbands, you know" she replied with a smile.

"My babies are going to be married!" I exclaimed.

"A task I do not envy you, but they will always be your musume-tachi and they will always seek your wisdom in their lives" Regina told me comfortingly as she began to disappear from in front of me and I returned to my bed.

~End Dream Sequence~

I awoke drenched in perspiration and glanced around my room to take stock of my senses.

"Are you daijobu, Kaoru-chan?" Rikiya asked as he sat up to take hold of me in a comforting manner.

"You're not going to believe this, but…" I then told him nani all I had just dreamed of and he quietly nodded his head in understanding.

"Daijobu, let's go back to sleep and we'll call up Isamu and Kanta in the morning to discuss it with them" Rikiya told me as he gave me a kiss on the cheek and we laid back down to snuggle up together and fell back to sleep.

After breakfast the next morning, I called up Isamu to tell her the news.

"Are you sure it wasn't just a dream and nothing more?" she asked of me skeptically.

"I suppose it could have been, but this was from Aqua Regina so I don't know if I can just bypass the message as being nothing more than a dream" I replied.

"Un, but she normally appears to you via projection from the pearl, not in dream form" Isamu pointed out.

"You do have a point there; I'll see if I can speak with her later today in the event it was little more than a dream" I said in return.

"Great, when you learn nani the situation is, call me. I've got to get ready for my morning class" she said genially; at least she didn't think I was nekkyo.

"Sure thing; sayonara, Isamu-chan" I said and we soon hung up.

"So nani did Isamu have to say?" inquired Rikiya as he entered the daidokoro.

I told him nani all she had said and even he had to admit that she made a good point on how Aqua Regina usually appeared to me.

"So anyways, I'm going to go talk to her later this morning after I get most of my work done" I told him.

"Makes sense to me. Oh, and I'm thinking of a way to let the girls enjoy swimming in the water while not attracting too much attention from the guests" Rikiya told me while we returned to our room to get dressed.

"We've been trying to come up with something for over ten years now; you know we can't take any risks where their safety is concerned" I told him.

"Nor can we take chances with yours, but I am thinking of fixing it so that they can pass from tank to tank and advertising it as both a floor show, a challenge for children, and maybe even a combination of maintenance and checking on the health of the animals while in costume" Rikiya told me and I began to think on it for a moment.

"It's tricky, but it might be worth considering" I replied hopefully.

Unfortunately for me, my dream just continued nagging at me without let up. So much so that, when Isamu approached to tap me on the shoulder, she startled me.

"Whoa, take it easy, Kaoru-chan; it's just me" Isamu said to me.

"Gomen nasai, but I was so lost in thought I didn't realize someone was approaching me from behind" I apologized.

"That dream of yours bugging you still?" she then asked.

"Un, I know it sounds silly, but it kind of concerns me" I replied.

"Why not take a break then? We can both go and talk to her" offered Isamu and I nodded my head in agreement.

'Hey, Rikiya, I'm taking my break now' I then texted to Rikiya.

He soon text messaged me with, '10-4.'

"A six hour break; boy is he nice" Isamu noted in impression.

"Iie, 10-4 is a quick way of saying 'I understand; Roger; Copy that; etc.'" I then explained as we started to head for Akihiro's personal tank where we also housed the giant clam and pearl.

Stripping off most of our clothes, we dove into the water where we instantly morphed into mermaids and swam down towards the giant clam which opened as soon as we arrived to float before it.

"I was expecting I would see you sometime today; nice to see you're in your mermaid form instead of in the altogether" Aqua Regina spoke to us as her image appeared in the water before us.

"Then it wasn't just a dream" I said to her.

"Iie, I spoke to you within your dream because I thought it would be easier on you and I knew not how to communicate with Isamu-chan so as to inform her as well" Aqua Regina explained to us.

"Let me guess, I'm too far away for your thought waves to reach me when I'm asleep" Isamu surmised.

"Amongst other things, but hai" Aqua Regina replied.

"I suppose we should have a sit down with our children and explain to them their futures" Isamu then said with a sigh.

"Actually, their futures are not written; it is for them to decide and the only way they will lean towards the direction in which they are destined to follow, then you must push them in the right direction" Aqua Regina told us.

"Wait a second; you said that their futures are not written, but that they are destined to follow a certain direction. Stop me if I'm wrong, but isn't that a contradiction in terms" Isamu asked in confusion.

"They are destined to rebuild the Mermaid Kingdoms, but only if you guide them to do so" she repeated.

"I get it; their overall futures can take any one of a number of twists and turns, but their baseline destiny is to rebuild the Kingdoms. Who they marry, who their children are to be, who will follow and who will oppose them, and which of the Kingdoms they rule over, etc. has yet to be determined" I realized and Aqua Regina nodded her head in acknowledgment.

"They have a hard enough time focusing on their schoolwork; with this bit of information it's only going to intensify" Isamu noted to me.

"I have an idea, but first, let's sit down with our husbands and explain everything to them so that they will be able to help us in properly directing and guiding the children on the right path to meet their destinies. But meanwhile, on another note, nani would happen if we were to tell our visitors that our mermaids were merely technicians in disguise so as to let them swim and play in the tanks?" I then asked of Aqua Regina.

"You, Isamu, and your musume-tachi are the first of a new generation of Mermaids with a whole new metamorphosis. As such, the rules are also changing and a whole new book of Mermaid Laws is being written, so it is anyone's guess as to nani may happen" Aqua Regina replied.

"So nani were the old laws?" Isamu asked and I just shrugged my shoulders in equal confusion.

"However, it is because of these changes that my powers are waning and I shall soon cease to exist" Aqua Regina then told us as her image faded away and the clam soon closed back up just as their husbands arrived.

"Wait, you'll soon cease to exist; how will we get advice then?!" I asked in disdain.

"It's all in the new book of Mermaid Laws, I guess" Rikiya replied, causing the two girls to turn around and take notice of their arrival.

"Speaking of which, I wonder nani the old laws were" Kanta said.

The clam soon opened up again and a beam of energy came forth to materialize a book that was old and worn out, as it said, "Mermaid Laws" in a very faded text which I received into my hands.

Opening it, I told the others, "It says here that initially, a Mermaid can be seen by humans and vice-versa, but mermaids can't tell anyone they are such, or they will turn into bubbles. However, the only exception to this rule is if the human in question figures it out on his or her own."

"So even if the girls were seen, there would be iie problem" Isamu concluded.

"But the new laws will be written, so we just need to figure out nani they are and how they come into effect" Rikiya said.

"Looks like I've got my own homework to do and the sooner the better; if this text fades any further, it'll soon be illegible" I commented and we all headed for the surface.

Once dried off and back in human form, Isamu and I went to my condo where she was permitted to slowly read aloud from the book while I typed it all out on my computer for the two of us to slowly go back over to understand the old laws. Just as we had finished our work, not only had the text completely faded away, but soon, too, did the old book itself.

"It looks like we finished just in time" Isamu commented as we had just watched the old book fade out of existence.

"So it would seem. Well, I've got my copy and here's one for you to read over as well. I guess now all that remains to be seen is nani these new laws are to be and how they come into effect" I noted with a sigh as I handed over a copy of the documents I had just finished printing out over to Isamu.

After Isamu had gone home, I sat down on the couch to read over the old laws and found myself quite thankful for some of the changes that had occurred. Instead of singing to our enemies to defeat them, we actually now battled with them; and our uniforms went from being really girly to being less so.

Rikiya soon came home with the girls and while they went to their rooms to work on their homework, I fixed dinner. Later on, after seeing our girls off to bed, I sat up in bed, not wearing a stitch, reading from the documents. I was so engrossed in them that I didn't even notice Rikiya trying to play with me until he took the papers from my hands with a look of annoyance on his face.

"Hey, I was reading that!" I called out in protest.

"Hai, and ignoring me completely" he said in reprimand.

"Gomen nasai, I guess I'm just too caught up in trying to understand the old laws to know nani to watch for with the new laws coming into play" I replied in apology, accepting the reprimand.

"We already know nani some of the changes are to be by just looking at ourselves" he told me as he set the papers upon my nightstand.

"In more ways than you realize. Where once the princesses and other mermaids came from a special fountain, mermaids will now be giving birth and status will be affected by lineage" I told him and he just sent me an incredulous look.

"Would you forget the laws for the moment and just be my wife?" he asked of me with a hard look.

"Sure, but just let me finish the one paragraph I was reading" I told him as I reached for the documents once again only to get my hand slapped away.

"That's it, I know of a way to get you to cooperate" Rikiya then said as he draped me over his lap.

"Hey, iie, stop, you can't do this to me!" I protested just as he delivered twelve sharp, firm swats to my o-shiri.

Of course when he finished I turned around and tackled him to the bed which turned into wrestling with him until we fell off the bed together which ended in a make-out session with us finally falling asleep in each other's arms on the floor.

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><p>Early the following morning, I called up Isamu and told her that it was mine and Rikiya's plan to call our girls in sick and to head over to the ruins of the one Mermaid Kingdom.<p>

"Give me 30 minutes and my boys and I will join you" she replied and we all met up at the aquarium's marina.

Opening our pendants, we made sure to switch over to a private channel so that when we transformed into our Powerpuff Mermaid and Panthalessa forms the others wouldn't be signaled.

"Are we ready to go?" Kanta then asked of us.

"Let's do this!" Kaito replied excitedly.

"Green Pearl Voice"

"Lime Pearl Voice"

"Pink Pearl Voice"

"Blue Pearl Voice"

"Yellow Pearl Voice"

"Powerpuff Mermaids Z"

"White Pearl Power"

"Green Pearl Power"

"Red Pearl Power"

"Indigo Pearl Power"

"Orange Pearl Power"

"Panthalessa Boys Z"

Once finished with our transformations and group poses, we took off heading for the open ocean with Akihiro following along with us in his guardian form until we reached the location of the ruins. Diving down into the water, we swam down to the ocean floor where we began to assess the extent of the work we had in store for us.

The Boys checked and mapped out the perimeter of the kingdom while we Mermaids went through trying to map out the rooms and other buildings of the kingdom.

"This isn't going to be easy" Lucia commented.

"Really, I mean, we have iie way of knowing how tall this place was" Rina added in agreement.

"Hey, come check it out! I found an old fountain!" Kaori called out and we all swam over to join her.

"Nani in the world would they need a water fountain for when they're underwater and would such a thing even work?" asked Isamu in disbelief.

"Well, back when it was in working order and didn't have all of this rubble and debris filling it, this was actually where they drew forth new mermaids from. But, in accord with the new laws, this is now obsolete" I explained to her and the others.

"You mean to tell me that this is where baby Mermaids came from? But how is that even possible; I know where babies come from" Sakiya asked in confusion.

"I'm not sure, but that's the way things used to work according to the old Laws" I replied honestly.

"Then you have something to share with us tonight, Sakiya" noted Makoto to his kyodai.

"Nani do you mean?" he asked.

"You know something that neither Makoto nor I do; now we're curious" Kaito replied.

"Oh, that; just ask Mom later on tonight. She can explain it far better than I can and Dad will only fumble over his words before sending you to Mom anyways" Sakiya told them and Isamu could only face-palm herself.

"Why do so many guys have trouble discussing that topic with their children anyways?" I asked of Isamu.

"I have iie clue, but I do know that Luke, Pazu, and Takaaki had iie problems talking about it with their children" she told me as we got back to work.

"Well, we finished mapping out the perimeter; how are you all making out?" Rikiya asked as he and Kanta rejoined us.

"It's going to take a lot more than the ten of us can manage, that's for sure" I answered.

"So I noticed. We're going to have to have many parts built on land and shipped out here to be lowered down via crane" Kanta informed us.

"And keeping such activities a secret isn't going to be easy, either" Isamu noted to us.

"Unless we do it at night, but that will only increase the danger and difficulty of the mission" I added.

"Nani if we fib about nani it is that we're doing? When asked about it, we tell them one thing while we're really doing another" proposed Rina.

"It's doable, but people will become curious and want to see how the progress is moving along and they may realize just nani it is that we're really up to and I can't tell you the dangers that will pose" Rikiya replied honestly.

"Well, nani ever we decide on is going to have to start up soon; Winter isn't that far off and you know nani that means" Isamu cautioned us.

"Maybe not as long as we think; come check this out" Kaori called out from nani looked like a type of altar.

"Nani did you find?" Lucia asked as we all swam over.

As soon as we all looked down at the altar, a beam of light came forth from Lucia's pendant and shown down onto a small heart-shaped mark that was on the altar and the ground around us began to shake and tremble.

"Nani is happening?" asked Kaori in fear as she grabbed hold of me.

"An undersea quake?" guessed Rina as she also grabbed onto me.

"Hey look over there!" shouted out Kanta and we all turned to notice the tops of spires starting to rise up from the ocean floor which were soon followed by walls of unknown materials.

The fountain, however, was swallowed up by the ground as a new castle appeared around us and, in its place, the bottom half of a giant clam with a massive pearl in the middle of it materialized.

"Lucia's pendant must have triggered a mechanism that caused this new castle to rise up from out of the ocean floor" surmised Rikiya.

"You are correct" a voice said from behind him and emanating from the pearl.

Turning to the pearl, we saw Aqua Regina's image appear before the pearl with a smile on her face.

"I thought you said your powers were waning and that you wouldn't be with us anymore?" I said in confusion.

"Welcome to the Mermaid Kingdom of the North Pacific and welcome to you, Mermaid Princess Lucia to your kingdom" she spoke, ignoring my question.

"It appears to be little more than a recording" Isamu noted to me and I sighed with minor disappointment.

"As you have realized by now, your pendant has triggered the recreation of your kingdom. Now, in accord with the new laws, the Mermaid fountain has ceased to exist, but in its place has come to reside this pearl, and soon six others, but more on that later. With these pearls you will be able to communicate with any Mermaid within your kingdom as well as speaking with the other Mermaid Princesses once their kingdoms are restored" the image continued explaining.

"As if Lucia wasn't already hard enough to put up with" noted Rina until I gave her a firm, but quick swat to her backside.

"As for myself, I am little more than an image placed into the pearl so as to answer any and all questions you may have until such point in time as I am iie longer needed" Aqua Regina then added.

"Have the new laws been completed, yet?" Lucia then asked of her.

"Hai, you will find them within this book" she replied as a book materialized upon the altar. "Meanwhile, your subjects await your beck and call."

"Now just wait one minute; I'm still her mother and she's still too young to be taking up such a position of responsibility" I said to the image quite firmly.

"Queen Kaoru, I also wish to welcome you to your Kingdom" she then spoke, catching me off guard.

"My kingdom; nani are you talking about?" I asked of her.

"It is in accord with the New Laws that: Upon finding and marrying an appropriate mate, a Mermaid Princess becomes Queen of her Kingdom. Her eldest daughter, upon birth, becomes Princess. However, it is not until the Princess celebrates her twelfth year that she takes over rule of her Kingdom" she told us, reciting the new law.

"Twelve; don't you think that's a bit too young? I was thinking more like sixteen" I replied.

"These are the new laws" she repeated. "Amendment: Full rule does not fall upon them until they are sixteen as their parents may still overrule them if it is felt they are making an irresponsible decision."

"That's more like it" I noted with satisfaction.

"Question: If the Mermaid Kingdoms are restored via the girls' pendants, then how are we to restore the rest of the Kingdoms?" Isamu then asked.

"The answer resides within your own pendants" the image replied and both Isamu and I looked down at our pendants in surprise.

"Of course, that explains why we have two pearl apiece within our pendants while the girls only have one" I realized in understanding.

"But, only when the Princesses of those Kingdoms are born may those Kingdoms be restored" Aqua Regina informed us.

"So nani happens if the Queen does not give birth to a daughter, but only has sons?" Isamu then asked in sudden realization of her situation.

"Then by a jury of her fellow Queens and/or Princesses a new heir is chosen and, upon turning of the appropriate age, gains control over that one's kingdom" she answered solemnly.

"Now wait just a second! Nani is the purpose of creating us Panthalessa Boys if we're not to have any kind of position or standing in any kingdom?!" Kanta asked heatedly as he took hold of Isamu in a comforting manner.

"I don't object to feminist rule, but I do object to the fact that men have iie place in your society" Rikiya stated in mild anger.

"You know, I remember reading a fairy tale that spoke of Mermaids as well as Mer_men_" noted Rina.

"I remember that one! There was even a Sea King in that story!" added Lucia; Rina had read it to her as a naptime story once when she was sick.

"I am not familiar with this story and the concept of Mermen is completely unheard of" Aqua Regina said in reply.

"Well, you said it yourself, ours is a changing society and we're currently moving away from the old Laws and into new ones" I offered in support of the argument.

"You're talking about creating a whole new branch of a pre-existing race and I wouldn't even where or how to begin" Aqua Regina argued in return.

"You took four humans and turned them into Mermaids and the Panthalessa and you've iie idea how to create Mermen?" Kanta asked in confusion.

"But that was different! Mermaids and the Panthalessa already existed; you're talking about something that's never been done before. And even then, most female societies where men exist, the men often rise up together to overpower their ruling females in order to take over and thus put the women into the submissive position" Aqua Regina argued in return.

"Could laws be written so that men could never take control of the Kingdoms?" asked Makoto innocently.

"You don't know nani you're asking" Aqua Regina returned.

"She's right; in order to do something like that would require slave-like control over the men" I noted in her defense.

"Nani about an equal society?" asked Kaori, speaking up for the first time and we all fell silent to ponder over her suggestion. "We can still be a predominantly female ruling society, but, in the event of a Mermaid not producing a Princess, rule temporarily falls to her eldest son until such point in time as he takes a Mermaid wife and then he must step down and she takes over."

We all then turned to look at Regina in questioning.

"And nani if he decides not to step down and should desire to continue ruling while secretly mounting a rebellion against the other Mermaid Princesses?" posed Aqua Regina in reply.

"Only a Princess may attain the Pearl of a Kingdom and with the Pearl can become a Powerpuff Mermaid" Kaori answered.

"And nani of us Panthalessa Boys?" challenged Sakiya.

"Weren't you paying attention? They just said that…" Kaito started to reply when a flash of light from Aqua Regina surrounded the boys.

"Nani just happened?" Rikiya asked.

"I don't know; I sure don't feel any different" Kanta replied with a shrug of his shoulders.

"That's because you're still in your Panthalessa forms" Aqua Regina said and then raised one hand to cause us all to revert to our Mermaid and Mermen forms.

"HOLY MACKEREL; WE'RE HALF FISH!" shouted the boys simultaneously.

"Cool, you're Mermen now" Rina said as she stared up at her father.

"Hai, and only a Merman Prince may become a Panthalessa Boy and is to stand as protector of his shimai or wife as she rules as Mermaid Princess or Queen" Aqua Regina said tiredly.

"Are you daijobu, Aqua Regina-sama?" Lucia asked.

"My powers are waning; I must rest now, but rest assured that we will see each other again" Aqua Regina replied before her image disappeared from the pearl.

"Well, we now know nani our ultimate mission is, but I'm afraid that it will have to wait until later" I then said with a sigh as I turned to my family and friends.

"Why is that, Kaoru-chan?" Kanta asked of me.

"Because winter will be upon us soon and the children aren't fit for swimming in such cold waters yet" Isamu answered for me and we decided to return to the aquarium.

Upon our return, we all swam into the access tunnel so as to enter Akihiro's tank. Once we rose up from the water, we all returned to our human forms and were even dressed back in our street clothes, though we all still gave pause long enough to reflect upon our new mission as well as the boys reflecting on their new Mermen forms.

"It was strange enough adapting to the concept of be able to breathe underwater without oxygen tanks, but now to be half-human; how do you girls do it?" asked Kanta of Isamu.

"It was strange at first, but you soon don't even think about it and just exist as you are" Isamu replied honestly.

"I think I can understand nani you're saying" Rikiya then said as we gathered up the children and started to head back to our condo while Isamu and Kanta started to head for their own home.

We soon sat down to dinner before heading off to get cleaned up. Tucking our girls in for the night, Rikiya and I then went to our room where we decided to make love to one another.

"You do realize that I'm not spawning the way most fish do" Rikiya then noted to me as we stopped to catch our breath.

"I'm not either. Besides, I don't think it works that way for us" I then replied with a yawn as Rikiya covered us up with the sheet and quilt and I clicked the light off to drift off to sleep, curled up together.

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><p><strong>Carly: You do realize that you just combined Mermaid Melody with The Little Mermaid, don't you?<strong>

**TCW: Yeah, and while I'm sure there will be many readers and reviewers who will object to it, this is just me trying to level the playing field. After all, better to exist as equals than for one to try to have superiority over another.**

**Carly: Good point. So what's in store for the next chapter?**

**Next time…**

**Momoko: It's the holidays once again!**

**Kaarii: And this time you'll be learning a bit about Hanukah.**

**TCW: All this and still more to come!**

**Momoko and Carly: Just be sure to leave us some really nice reviews, onegai!**

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><p><strong>Author's Note: Yeah, I know many of you aren't happy with the change I've made to the Mermaid Melody concept and for this I do apologize. But I was trying to think of some way to bring the Panthalessa and Mermaids together and this was the best I could come up with without creating a separate kingdom for the Panthalessa and the anime provided too little information about them so as to try to understand them better. And while I'm sure many of you were happy with the idea of a society ruled by women, I wanted to find a way of expressing the idea of equality over superiority. So please, spare me the flack you may wish to express as this is only me expressing my opinions and I know that not everyone will share them. If they did, we wouldn't have war, terrorism, and domestic violence. Thank you – The Cat Whispurrer <strong>


	83. Holiday Season

**For the many great reviews, friends, I thank you. This next chapter is a little late in coming and I apologize for this. And now, let's join our friends as they get ready to enjoy the…**

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><p><strong>Holiday Season<strong>

Winter was steadily settling into the area and with it, so too was the holiday season. My girls and I were kept busy setting up decorations while Luke was at work. The only thing we wouldn't be setting up was a tree as the house was too small for one. In its place we set up a bonsai tree for the ikebana with a picture scroll behind it which read 'Junigatsu' with a snow-capped Mount Fuji in the lower background.

Isamu stopped in one afternoon and dropped off four heavy, gift-wrapped packages labeled from her family to Luke as well as many other, much lighter packages from her family to the rest of us. After helping her to bring the gifts inside and set into a corner, we all shared a hug with her as well as expressing appreciation for the gifts which we would wait until Christmas morning to open.

However, it would be while we were out buying holiday treats and such that we would learn of yet another holiday that we found quite attractive: Hanukah.

We were approaching Kaarii's shop when we took notice of the blue and silver decorations as well as the candelabra that was set up in the back of the shop.

"Ohayo, nani may we do for you ladies this morning?" Kaarii greeted us warmly.

"Well, we were looking to pick up some treats for the holidays, but right now we're more interested in the decorations" I replied while also noticing the girls watching as Hikari and Kaede were playing dreidel.

"Oh, you mean the Hanukah decorations" Kaarii replied with a smile as she set a plate of sugar cookies shaped like stars with blue icing and silver dust upon the table; one for each of them.

"Nani is Hanukah, Kaarii-san?" Akahana asked curiously.

"Hanukah is a Jewish celebration where we celebrate the miracle of how one small flask of oil, which would only last for one night, actually lasted eight nights; the amount of time it would take to make more oil. We light the Menorah, adding one candle each night until the eight day celebration comes to an end" Kaarii explained simply.

"And each night, after lighting the Menorah candle, we play dreidel as a family. But right now we're practicing" Kaede added.

"So I take it that this lovely candelabra is called a Menorah, then" I surmised.

"Exactly" Kaarii replied.

"But if the celebration only lasts eight nights, why are there nine candles?" asked Suzuko in confusion.

"The center candle is called the Shamash, or helper, and is used to light the other candles as it is forbidden to use the eight Hanukah candles themselves" Kaarii explained.

"That makes sense" I noted aloud.

"And until the children are old enough and responsible enough, we use electric Menorahs in their bedroom windows. You press the center button first and then add one extra light each night until all eight lights are lit; it still keeps with the tradition, but is much safer for children to use as opposed to matches and candles" she told me.

"Back when I was living with Luke in America, I remember seeing nine 'candled' electric lights in the windows of some homes that ran all night" I then recalled.

"Let me guess, they were made to look like regular candelabra and rose from low to high to low again?" she asked me and I nodded. "Those are completely different as the Menorah's lights are all in a straight line with the exception of the attendant light. Also, the Menorah lights are only burned for a half hour after sunset."

"Duly noted; I do like the look of the Menorah and the base concept. Of course, we're also trying to adapt our friends' and families' celebrations to our own; thus far including Christmas and the Shinto holiday traditions. Do you think it would be acceptable for us to include Hanukah?" I asked, not wishing to offend her or her faith.

"It's not really Hanukah without the other traditions that accompany it" Kaarii replied.

"There's even more?" Anzu asked in surprise.

"There's also the meals which are cooked in oil, preferably olive oil, the songs, the prayers and blessings; I got lucky when I married Josh as he already knew the Jewish holidays and celebrations and Dad really helped him a lot with some of the other parts; he actually has some relatives who are Jewish" Kaarii replied.

"I think I can understand nani all you're saying, but it would predominantly be done as a way to help you and your family feel more comfortable when visiting. My obaasan was always uncomfortable with Christmas which was why we also made sure to include the Shinto practices at home when I was little" I explained.

"That must have been a bit difficult, but you need not worry about us; we're used to being around other religious beliefs and practices" Kaarii told me and I felt a bit more relieved as I was always concerned with unintentionally offending other people's beliefs.

"So nani is it that you're playing, Kaede-chan?" asked Akahana curiously.

"It's called dreidel; a Hanukah tradition that we usually enjoy right after lighting the Menorah" Kaede explained.

"So how's it played?" asked Suzuko, ever the one to learn new things.

"Well, we each have a top called a dreidel which has four different symbols on each side that tells us nani move we're supposed to make. This one is Gimel; if the top lands with this symbol up you win the entirety of what is in the pot. This one is Nun and if it's the displaying symbol you don't put anything in the pot, don't take anything from the pot. Hay means you get to take half of nani is in the pot. However, if the number is odd, take the higher of the two factors. For instance, if there are five items in the pot, you take three. And last is Shin which mean you put one of your items in the pot; we normally play with pennies, but you can use nuts, small candies, pretzels, or even Hanukah Gelt" Kaede explained.

"Nani is Hanukah Gelt?" asked Anzu.

"Originally it was a type of money which was used to pay ones sensei with as a token of gratitude, but these days we use chocolate made to look like the old coins and wrap them up with gold colored foil wrap to that they still resemble the monetary pieces" Kaarii explained as she gave each of my girls a small net bag with the chocolate coins inside.

"Arigato, Kaarii-san" they expressed in appreciation.

"Doitashimashite, girls; I always enjoy further the education of Jewish holidays and customs with those who are receptive of it" Kaarii expressed.

Soon afterwards we selected the treats we had wanted for the holidays and then left for the local famers' market to pick up some persimmons. Next we headed out to purchase some gifts for our family and friends; I even made sure to pick up some Hanukah gift wrap for the presents we had purchased for Kaarii and her family.

Upon our return home, we began to set to work in wrapping all of the gifts we had purchased, finishing just before Luke came home and began preparing dinner.

"Tadaima!" Luke called in as he entered the house.

"Konnichiwa, Daddy" the girls said as they ran up and wrapped their arms around him in a group hug; their being barefoot and wearing only their kimono-tachi as they were getting ready to take their baths.

Once they had ran to the furoba, I stepped out wearing only my bath towel to give him a hug of my as well as a kiss on the cheek as I told him, "Welcome home."

"It's good to be home. I closed the clinic for the holidays" he told me in reply with a tired smile.

"Well, I'm about to join the girls in the furoba; why don't you get undressed and join us" I then told him.

"Sounds like a good idea to me" he replied and soon headed up to our room to change out of his work clothes before joining us girls in the furoba.

"So nani all did you ladies do today?" Luke asked as we were soaking in the o-furo together.

"We went shopping" Akahana said with a bright smile.

"And we learned about Hanukah from Kaarii-san" added Suzuko; Anzu was sitting on her father's lap, dozing against his chest.

"They were all really well-behaved today, even Anzu" I then said as I helped the other two in getting out of the o-furo to get dried off.

"She is learning to control her temper when it matters the most" he replied as he rose up from the water and took up a towel to wrap Anzu up in as she woke up from her brief nap.

Once dressed in our kimono-tachi, we all sat down to dinner. Anzu was once again starting to doze off with a full tummy and her shimai-tachi weren't too far behind her, so we cleaned them up and carried the girls up the stairs to brush their teeth before putting them to bed. Luke and I then returned to the daidokoro where we washed the dishes together.

"Isamu stopped by this afternoon to deliver our Christmas presents" I told him.

"Did you ladies get the presents wrapped up?" he then asked of me.

"Hai; we even got some Hanukah gift wrap for the presents for Kaarii and her family" I replied.

"I'll make sure to deliver all of the gifts tomorrow then" he told me as he was washing up the last of the dishes as I stepped away for a moment.

When he was finished and turned around to face me, I opened my kimono and asked him, "I've got a warm fire burning in the fireplace; want to go fool around in front of it?"

"With you; always" he replied romantically as we left for a little 'fun' in front of the fireplace.

Finished and cleaning up the lambskin rug that lay in front of the fireplace, Luke closed the glass gates of the fireplace and we soon headed up to our room to get some sleep.

The next day, with Anzu helping, Luke delivered all of the presents to our friends and family members with many of them giving him gifts to return home with. Upon his return, we all helped in unloading the minivan, which I had bought after the battle with Kaosu as his monsters had destroyed my car, and placed them into the corner with the other items.

Once finished, we drove over to my parents' house for Christmas Eve dinner. Kuriko and her family were also there and we all had a great time. The children fell asleep in front of the fireplace with very full tummies.

Upon our return home and putting the girls to bed, Luke and I set up a table outside of the fencing and covered it with bento boxes that the girls and I had prepared earlier for the needy and homeless before returning inside to head for bed ourselves.

The following morning, right after breakfast, we opened our presents from our family and friends. Luke received four buster swords from Isamu and her family, two of each kind as one could be displayed all together while its twin could be displayed in its separate, smaller swords as they all combined together to form on big sword. All based off of buster swords from the Final Fantasy video game series.

"These sure look clunky" Anzu commented.

"You're right, but then these are more for novelty than actual use" Luke replied as they set them up in a couple of display cases in his office.

From there, they went upstairs to Anzu's room where they set up her new collection of miniature buster swords as well as her new kendo buster sword; it was recently approved by the kendo tournament circle, but was to be kept as a separate grouping from regular kendo tournaments.

As for me, I put away my new jewelry from Luke before heading down to put away some of the other new items I received, including a new leather jacket from my girls.

Suzuko went to her room to set up her new collection of keyblades and her new set of underclothes from Miyako.

And Akahana was busy setting up her new garden tools and a small greenhouse.

After the gift wrap, boxes, and ribbons were cleaned up and put into the recycling, we all dressed in our winter clothes to head outside to take down the table while collecting up the many 'Arigato' notes left to us for the bento boxes. Returning inside, Luke and I sat down in front of the fireplace while the girls lounged on their tummies between us and listening as Luke read over the notes aloud to us. I made some hot chocolate for the girls and tea for me and Luke which we all enjoyed in front of the fireplace in contentment. The girls soon fell asleep, so Luke and I took the opportunity to slip upstairs to enjoy one another.

A few nights later, after enjoying a few rounds of dreidel, a gift from Kaarii and her family, we all dressed up warmly to head out for the New Year's Eve.

We were driving past a Buddhist temple when the bells began to chime; Suzuko looked at her watch and began counting the numbers of chimes when, after 108 times, she noted to us, "Their clocks must be way off; it's only 2:00 PM."

Chuckling at first, I then told her, "That's a Buddhist temple and, while normally done at midnight until the new ordinance went through, they ring the bells 108 times because of the Buddhist belief that human beings are plagued by 108 earthly desires and/or passions. With each ring of the bells, one desire is dispelled."

"Oh, so that's why they were doing that; okay then" Suzuko replied as we pulled into the new lab's parking lot and parking right beside Kaarii's delivery van.

Kaarii soon came dashing outside and approached us with a smile as we were climbing out and said, "Hey, you guys, so nice to see you joining us for not only the celebration for the New Year, but also for the opening of the new lab."

"We wouldn't miss it" I replied as I began to direct the girls inside and out of the cold.

"Do you need any help, Kaarii-chan?" Luke asked as he noticed the tall cardboard box that was covering the cake.

"Sure, would you mind taking that big cooler inside for me; it has the sparkling fruit juices in it" Kaarii indicated and Luke hefted the heavy cooler with ease.

Josh soon came dashing out to help Kaarii with the cake while Ken held the door open for them.

"Hot tea, hot apple cider, and hot chocolate now being served until dinner" Takaaki announced to everyone from the bar.

It was when Kaarii's mother stepped out from the back when we noticed Chico in the dining room setting up a couple of long tables with food as he was catering for the occasion; he'd graduated from culinary college and was now running his own Nihon-go restaurant and was now our private caterer for special events.

Kaoru soon arrived with her girls though they all seemed a bit uncomfortable for some reason or another.

"Hey, how are my favorite Mermaids?" Luke asked of them genially as he picked up and hugged Lucia before noticing the look on Kaoru's face. "Nani is wrong?"

"We're just not sure if we should still be a part of the team anymore" Rina answered.

"Well, that's a nekkyo thing to say; of course you're still members of the team" Miyako replied as she passed a cup of hot apple cider to Kaoru.

"It's a bit more complicated than you think. But for now, we'll put it behind us and enjoy the party with our friends" Kaoru replied with a brighter smile though I could still see the concern in Luke's eyes.

Isamu and her family soon arrived and even they seemed to feel out of place until they managed to semi-segregate themselves to one group. This seemed to be upsetting Ami so Luke called Isamu over and they all stepped off to quietly speak together.

Most of us paid them little heed until Ami shouted out, "I don't care nani some underwater deity says; you are my shimai and you are going to remain my shimai until the day we die!"

Luke set a gentle hand upon Ami's shoulder and they fell back into quiet conversation, though they now all had our attention even if we couldn't hear nani they were saying. Soon the two girls embraced him tearfully but when they stepped back, they were all smiles, so we all felt better about them.

Chico soon stepped out, opened the doors to the dining room, and announced, "Dinner is now served."

Sitting down at the round conference table, which still bore the emblazoned PPAZ upon it, we all said, "Itadakimasu!" before partaking of the wonderful meal.

"Hmm, my compliments to the chef" I said to Chico who smiled in return.

"Nani are these pancake looking things?" asked Suzuko while trying one and smiling brightly; she obviously liked them.

"Those are called latkes; they're potato pancakes" Chico replied honestly.

"Judging by the smile on her face, it looks like I may have to learn how to make them" Momoko commented in return.

After dinner, we all sat around quietly talking until Ken and Kuriko were ready for the ribbon cutting ceremony to open the new lab, during which sparkling fruit juices were to be served and cake was to be enjoyed. A little later, Kuriko invited us to bring the children upstairs to put them to bed as many of them were already starting to fall asleep.

When done putting the children to bed, we all sat around the lab enjoying a little more juice and playing some games until it got to be five minutes to midnight and we all refilled our glasses with sparkling juice as little confetti poppers were passed around and, at the stroke of midnight, we all quietly cheered out, "HAPPY NEW YEAR!" while also launching confetti around the lab. We stayed up for a little while longer before turning in for the night in the apartments of the new lab, and even though we were supposed to go to sleep, we all decided to have our first love making of the New Year in our rooms before finally falling asleep.

The next morning, we all remained in our pajamas and/or nightgowns as we enjoyed breakfast together before letting the children head off to play together as we adults continued to sit around the conference table to listen as Kaoru and Isamu explained their concerns to us.

"So you guys are now Mermen?" asked Pazu of his kyodai in surprise.

"Un, though it's taking a bit to get used to" Kanta replied.

"Anyways, you can now see why we're uncertain of our still belonging to the team" Kaoru then said with a sigh.

"It seems to me as though we're the starting generation for nani is to become an ultimate peacekeeping force" Takaaki surmised.

"So it would seem. And thus let us all set an example to our children so that they may in turn set an example to their own and all future generations so that we may continue on in peace" Luke proclaimed and we all agreed with him.

"Here's an idea; let's build a new conference center for the Alliance to meet in and this table will be moved to it so that we may all meet in peace around it" offered Kuriko.

"I wish everyone had suggested it sooner; I could have had the lab built closer to the river" Ken said with a sigh.

"Well, it's something we can all continue to discuss over the years to come. The children are only seven and we've still many of our own years to fulfill first. Meanwhile, I don't know about all of you, but I'm thinking of taking my lovely wife back to our apartment and showing her how much I love her" Luke said and I blushed deeply.

"Sure, Mom, Dad, and Chico are watching over the children, so I'm game for it" Kaarii said as Josh was now staring at her lovingly.

"Then it's decided!" Ken said as he took hold of Kuriko's hand and we all slipped out to return to our apartments to make love for a while before finally meeting up with the children to get cleaned up while Chico was fixing lunch for everyone.

After lunch, we were given the grand tour of the lab, including the planetarium which was on the fourth floor while a giant telescope that could be retracted during foul weather made up the roof. There was a large garden in the backyard, and even an indoor pool was connected to the lab.

"Pretty much nani I've tried to do is to create a small environment in which we could all live should the need ever arise" Ken explained as he showed us to the vast kitchen with an attached bakery and ice creamery.

"Sugoi, this place is ready-made for us to move in right now" noted Miyako as she was looking through the large sewing room.

"And in a few years, there will be a few more restored Kingdoms for us to move into if we should so desire" noted Isamu quietly.

"I'm not leaving the aquarium behind" Kaoru suddenly said stubbornly.

"Nor am I" added Kaori as she turned to look up at her mother; it was uncanny as to how much they resembled each other. To look at Kaori would be to look at a living photograph of her mother when she was only seven, except that Kaori didn't mind wearing dresses.

Kaoru dropped down to her knees to embrace Kaori and kissed her little girl on the cheek with happy tears in her eyes.

We were all soon distracted by the inviting aroma of a chocolate cake and turned to see Hikari with her little baking shop set, including a working oven, and she was pulling her first cake out with Clemintina and Sherbet supervising. She checked it with a toothpick to see if it was baked through and when she pulled the toothpick back out, she smiled brightly.

"There's your problem, Kaarii-chan; she may not know much about school, but Hikari is a baking prodigy" I noted to Kaarii.

"So I see" Kaarii commented as we watched Hikari pull out some ingredients to make chocolate frosting from scratch.

"Told you so" Hotaka said with a smile to his imouto; though of the same age, Hikari was considered their imoto as she was the last one born and was the shortest of the three.

"Don't get smug, Hotaka" Kaede chastised her kyodai.

"It would also seem as though she has an admirer" we heard Ami say with a giggle as we all noticed Benjirou sitting at the other end of the table with his elbows on the table and looking at her almost amorously.

Chikako soon joined us wearing her new kangofu's uniform and carrying a medical bag and approached Hotaka to fuss at him, "Hotaka-kun, I need to change your bandage."

"Gomen nasai, I'm coming" he replied as he began following her to a small chair where he sat down and pulled up his pants leg to allow Chikako to change a bandage that he had covering a small cut.

When done cleaning up Hotaka's wound and covering it with a new bandage, Chikako kissed it before saying, "There; that should help it get better quicker."

"Arigato, Chikako-chan" Hotaka said as he gave her a hug.

"It looks like your three are quite taken with Kaarii's trio" I noted to Ami.

"Un, well there will be iie getting married for at least another fourteen years, minimum" Kaarii said determinedly.

"I know how you feel; I was watching the other day when Momoko's girls were visiting and trying on some new clothes, and I found my boys trying to peep on them using mirrors! Needless to say, there were some very red o-shiri-tachi when I caught them and even offered to let Momoko to be the one to deliver; I'm surprised you said, iie" Miyako added.

"Hai, well I was uncomfortable with the idea of striking your boys, even if they did deserve it" I replied honestly.

"I think I can see your point on that. Not being their mother, it would make you feel and appear inappropriate to be striking them on their bare backsides" noted Takaaki in my defense.

"Not to mention that our girls aren't necessarily innocent, either" Luke added in a mumble that had Miyako looking at him in concern.

"Let me guess: Suzuko was being a little exhibitionist?" guessed Ami.

"Akahana, too, and it was during the boys' last visit. Fortunately Anzu had the sense not to give in and just took Eri to her room to show off her miniature buster sword collection" I said with a sigh as we turned to watch my girls playing with Miyako's boys; Anzu and Eri were engaged in a kendo buster sword match while Youga and Akahana were looking over a book on flowers together, but Suzuko and Tomohiro were missing. We found them snuggled up together in front of the fireplace, in their underclothes, and a blanket covering the two of them; Miyako and I just face-palmed ourselves in disdain.

"At least they're being somewhat appropriate" Kaarii said while trying to stifle a giggle and failing miserably.

"Pull yourself together!" I fussed at her while Luke and Takaaki quietly took them up in their arms to slip their pajamas onto them before setting them back down to continue their nap.

"Why dressed them in their pajamas instead of their clothes?" Miyako asked and I mirrored her question.

"They removed their regular clothes to be more comfortable" Takaaki noted simply.

"This way they're dressed even more appropriately, but they can still be comfortable" Luke added in further explanation.

"I think I can understand that. After all, it is hard to be comfortable while wearing a belt with a metal buckle and most of your street clothes aren't designed for taking a nap in" I replied as I remembered the many times I tried doing as such only to strip off my street clothes to get some sleep.

"Besides, they're all still children and while attracted to one another, I'm sure they're still not quite thinking in 'those' terms anyways" Isamu noted while watching over her Mermen and Kaoru's Mermaids as they enjoyed the inside pool together.

"Iie, but that is something we're going to have to watch out for in about another five or six years" Kaarii said with a sigh.

"Hai, but everyone develops at their own rate, so it could take longer in some cases and be shorter in others" noted Pazu honestly.

"Remind me to look into chastity belts for our girls when we get home" Luke grumbled to me.

"At least for Suzuko and Akahana; I don't think Anzu is going to be the type to tolerate that kind of thing until she's full well ready" I replied; Anzu was quite the little tomboy and she still thought of boys as being something to play with or beat up whenever necessary.

"Ite; watch how you swing that thing!" we heard Eri fuss at Anzu while shaking his hand after getting hit.

"Oh don't be such a baby. Besides, if you kept your hand behind the hand-guard instead of on it, then you wouldn't get your hand hit" Anzu fussed back as they quickly re-engaged each other in battle.

"Anzu makes a good point, Eri. However, I think you should both get your safety gear on before someone else takes a hit" Isamu said as she turned to continue supervising their match once Kaoru returned from the oteari to watch over their children.

"Hai, Isamu-sensei" "Hai, Obachan" the two of them replied as they paused their match.

"Actually, I have a better idea. Let's all get washed up and sit down to supper together" Kaarii's mother announced as she stepped into the room.

Heeding her advice, we all got cleaned up after the children put their toys away and we all then sat down to dinner once more. After dessert, tea, and helping with the cleanup, we gathered the children and bid one another oyasumi as we returned to our homes.

Luke and I met up in our room after putting the girls to bed and I noted to him as we snuggled up together, "I do love spending the holidays with our families and friends, but there really is iie place like home."

"Too true" Luke replied as we shared a kiss before drifting off to sleep in each other's arms.

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><p><strong>Carly: This was kind of a short, but sweet chapter, though a bit suggestive.<strong>

**TCW: Got to continue the romance between the couples, you know.**

**Carly: True. So nani is in store for the next chapter?**

**Next time…**

**Momoko: It's that time of the year again and love is in the air!**

**Kaoru: And we're helping our girls with their gifts for their boys.**

**Miyako: With the reverse soon to follow.**

**TCW: All this and still more to come, so stay tuned!**

**Momoko and Carly: Meanwhile, be sure to leave us some nice reviews, onegai!**

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><p><strong>Author's Note: The information on Hanukah used in this chapter comes from Wikipedia, with confirmation from a friend. This in no way represents me or my co-author. In other words, keep any and all nasty comments to yourself as I will not tolerate them and you will find yourself blocked. Thank you – The Cat Whispurrer<strong>

**P.S.  
><strong>

**Also, I have recently added a listing of the days of the week and months of the year to my profile page, but in advance, I shall let you know that Junigatsu means December. - TCW  
><strong>


	84. Season of Love

**For your great reviews, my friends, I thank you. And for this chapter, we will be learning a bit more about the children as they prepare to enjoy a...**

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><p><strong>Season of Love<strong>

Ichigatsu was fast drawing to a close and with it our girls were greatly looking forward to Nigatsu and Valentine's Day. We all spent much of our weekends at Kaarii's Pâtissière where she taught the girls how to make hommei-choco as well as giri-choco* of varying types.

"Daijobu, josei-tachi, the double-boiler is a chocolate-maker's best friend and go-to tool. First, fill the bottom pan with water and bring to a simmer. While this is going on, take out the chocolate bars set onto the counter and begin breaking them up into smaller pieces and set them into the top pan. For some instances, you can use this as a chocolate fondue, but for some of the items we're going to be making today, this is going to be basis for many of the chocolate candies," she explained while walking around the room to see how everyone making out.

"Daijobu, now that the water is simmering, carefully place the top pan over the bottom one. Be careful not to get any water in the chocolate or it will seize and you won't be able to work with it. Next, take up your rubber spatulas and, as you notice the chocolate pieces starting to melt, slowly and carefully begin stirring the chocolate. Once melted to a creamy consistency, take up your plastic sheet molds and lightly spray them with the provided cooking spray; this will help keep the chocolate from sticking to the molds when you go to remove them. Next you will remove the top pan and carefully scoop a little into each of the plastic sheet molds and then we will set them into the refrigerator to let the chocolate harden. While waiting on those, I want you to take up the next set of molds and lightly spray them as well, but do not add the chocolate just yet, as I am about to show you how to make truffles" Kaarii announced to them.

"Nani is a truffle?" asked Suzuko.

"A truffle is a type of chocolate that resembles a type of mushroom in form, hence the name, but can be filled with any one of a number of centers ranging from whole fruits and nuts, to pureed fruits, crèmes, and even caramel" Kaarii explained and Suzuko nodded her head in acceptance.

"Now, carefully begin lining the trays with most of the remaining chocolate, but be sure you have enough left over to create the bottoms of your truffles. Try to be as uniform in thickness as possible, but remember: practice makes perfect, and even then the professionals still have a hard time with this" the girls all enjoyed a brief giggle over that. "We will then set these into the refrigerator to harden while we begin making some soft, creamy caramel filling."

The girls eagerly set their chocolate shells into the refrigerator as instructed.

"Next, take up the second top pan and melt the 8 ounces of heavy cream and 1 pound of caramel and stir" Kaarii told them and soon they were removing their chocolate shells once again and into this they added the caramel fillings they had made before setting them back into the refrigerator.

"Daijobu, now we're going to temper the remaining chocolate before using it to form the bottoms of our truffles" Kaarii announced and the girls began tempering their chocolate and then sealed their truffles closed with the remaining chocolate and set them back into the refrigerator to finish.

"Is there a way to add a bit of flavor to the caramel so as to create say, chocolate or strawberry-flavored caramel?" asked Rina.

"Yes, and I will be sending you all home with some recipe books on how to make many other recipes outside of just nani we're creating today" Kaarii replied with a smile; she loved teaching others how to create cakes and candies as long as they were genuinely interested.

"Next, we're going to make some Oreo bonbons! First, you must put your 15.5 ounces of Oreos into the mix master and with the paddle attachment, crush them while the beater is on low speed and strictly low speed; we don't want the Oreos to be completely disintegrated yet." Kaarii said.

The girls put their ingredients into the mix master, and did as Kaarii had instructed, only issue was that Lucia accidentally put it on high speed, causing her to quickly shut it off and wheeze a bit in a panic.

Kaarii chuckled a bit, before checking on the Oreos, and much to Lucia's surprise, the cookies were actually crushed quite perfectly.

"Now, we need eight ounces of cream cheese into this mixture. Now put it on medium speed and mix until the cookies and the cream cheese are well combined, but please remember to stop and scrape down the side occasionally." Kaarii said.

The girls turned on the mixers once more, but not after adding one 8 ounce block of cream cheese.

Chikako said, "Yuck; I don't like cream cheese."

"But remember that they're not for you. Besides, this is a lesson so we can make our own chocolates at home for the boys" Akahana said.

"Daijobu, and now that the mixtures are homogenous, we need to cover them in plastic wrap and put them in the freezer for about two hours." Kaarii said, as she did so, and put them in the freezer.

"Two hours?!" the girls complained.

"Calm down," Kaarii said, calmly. "Think of it like this: while the mixture is melting, now I can teach you how to do coconut cream filled chocolates."

Of course, we all knew how to do this, but by bringing the girls to Kaarii's shop, it helped her business and she loved to share her knowledge of how to make all varieties of chocolates. And it also allowed us moms the opportunity to catch up on the latest gossip.

"I suppose we'll be doing this again in about a month or so but with the boys" Kuriko noted with a sigh.

"Hai, but at least they all genuinely care about each other. This would seem rather pointless if it was all just for giri-choco as opposed to hommei-choco" Ami replied while watching Chikako as she was starting to dip a small cake into her pot of melted chocolate and soon extracted it to set it aside to let the chocolate harden.

"Speaking of which, has anyone heard on how are neighborhood Phantom Thieves are doing?" I then asked of Ami with a smile while watching Anzu as she was having difficulty shaping her chocolate and getting frustrated until Kaarii approached to see if she could help.

"Business is slow; too many people focusing on bigger crimes than little ones" Ami informed me.

"Hmm, that is a problem, Anzu-chan, but I think I may have an alternative that may help you better" Kaarii replied after listening to Anzu explain the difficulty she was having and the two of them disappeared into the small warehouse where the packaging material was kept while leaving Josh to continue supervising the girls.

After a few minutes, the two of them came back out carrying a box shaped like a miniature buster sword and Anzu was allowed to get back to making her chocolates. I made a mental note to ask Kaarii about it later.

It was the middle of the afternoon when Kaarii finished up the class and sent each of the girls home with their own recipe books and double-boiler systems much to their pleasure. We all thanked Kaarii immensely for the gifts and for educating our girls; she just humbly bowed and accepted our gratitude graciously.

The next day was spent shopping for gift boxes and ingredients for the girls to create their chocolates in and the weekend before Valentine's Day, I supervised them in making their chocolates; helping out here and there with such things as cutting up the chocolate bars and fruits. They only broke long enough to eat their lunch and take a brief nap before getting right back into making their chocolates until just before their father came home from work and they needed to get washed up for dinner.

"Hmm, the house hasn't smelled this sweet for some time" Luke commented as I greeted him at the door.

"Hai, well the girls were busy making their giri-choco and hommei-choco" I replied while indicating the air-tight containers filled with their chocolates; secretly hiding the ones they had made specifically for him.

~Valentine's Day~

The girls were up early packing their chocolates with me helping them as I packaged the ones I had made for Luke while letting him sleep in a little. It was one of the days I always looked forward to as I got the opportunity to spoil him instead of his always spoiling me.

The girls soon quietly left for school after helping to package Luke's chocolates into a box that looked like a miniature buster sword. While watching and waving to the girls as they left for school with their backpacks full of chocolates, I heard the upstairs shower turn on and went to finished preparing breakfast for Luke. Soon after breakfast, we headed for the onsen in the backyard for some 'quality' time together and hanging a 'Do Not Disturb' sign on the door.

Akahana's POV

We soon met up with the other girls and all dashed into our classroom where we quickly put our hommei-choco boxes down upon the desks of the boys whom we had crushes upon before distributing the small giri-choco on the desks of the other boys. It surprised us when Chikako placed her hommei-choco upon Kouji's desk.

"I thought you liked Hotaka" noted Hikari somewhat sadly.

"Nani gave you that idea?" Chikako asked in confusion.

"The way you kissed his knee after changing his bandage New Year's Day" Anzu replied.

"I do that for everyone I change bandages for, silly. My real crush is upon Kouji while Kumiko's the one who has a crush upon Hotaka" Chikako replied while indicating Kumiko setting her hommei-choco upon Hotaka's desk.

Of course, when some other girls set hommei-choco on a few of the boys' desks whom we were crushing upon while also sending us angry glares which we returned, we knew that the battle-lines were being drawn. Later at recess, those same girls decided to try confronting us and tempers flared.

"Wait a second!" I shouted out over the noise as a catfight was developing. "Before we all risk suspension or expulsion, let's wait until White Day to see how the boys respond."

Though still quite angry and wanting to rip each other apart, a truce was called and we all decided to wait.

~Two weekends before White Day~

Takaaki's POV

The boys and I drove over to Josh and Kaarii's shop where they would learn all information that they would need to know on creating white chocolates and were soon met by the rest of the guys. Needless to say, we were all quite surprised to find Josh was teaching the class.

"Kaarii and I came to an agreement: she'd teach the girls for Valentine's Day and I'd teach the guys for White Day" Josh explained to us while waiting for the boys to take their stations while us dads sat down together in the dining room to wait for the class to get over.

"Okay, so are you guys ready to make some white chocolates for your lovely josei-tachi?" Josh asked as he made ready to begin the class.

Tomohiro raised his hand and inquired, "Nani is the difference between regular chocolate and white chocolate, Josh-sensei?"

"That is actually a very good question, Tomohiro. When it comes to white chocolate the fact is that it is not truly chocolate at all, in fact white chocolate is made from cocoa butter and sugar and iie cocoa liquor at all. Interestingly enough, the lack of liquor that causes the sweet sugary flavor is also the reason why many chocolate connoisseurs believe that white chocolate should not be called chocolate at all.

"Milk chocolate, on the other hand, is made from cocoa liquor, cocoa butter, sugar, and milk; hence the name. Milk chocolate is obviously a lighter color than dark chocolate and contains much less cocoa liquor than dark chocolate does. Milk chocolate is the most often used when it comes to confectionary and it is cited by the majority of chocolate lovers to be their favorite of the three varieties of chocolate.

Dark chocolate, in contrast to milk chocolate, is made from cocoa liquor, cocoa butter and sugar. The greater amount of liquor used in dark chocolate as opposed to milk chocolate is what causes the bitterness characteristic of dark chocolate. As the amount of liquor used goes down the bitterness of the chocolate goes down as well" Josh explained.

"So nani is the difference between cocoa liquor and cocoa butter?" asked Hotaka to further the lesson.

"Cocoa liquor is a paste that is made when cacao beans are ground so finely that they turn in to a thick paste. Cacao beans are ground in a mill where they move through a series of grinding stones which cause the beans to heat up and grind down to liquor. As the paste cools and dries it hardens. Cocoa liquor is extremely bitter, as are the cacao beans themselves, before they are combined with sugars and cocoa butter. Many people confuse cocoa liquor with cocoa liqueur; however liquor does not contain any alcohol and is merely the product of ground cacao beans.

"Cocoa butter is a fat that is extracted from the cacao bean or from cocoa liquor. Cocoa butter can be extracted by using a press which squeezes the fat from the beans but the most efficient way of removing cocoa butter from cacao beans is to hang ground beans in a warm room where the cocoa butter drips from the hanging beans" Josh explained further and the boys were soon nodding their heads in understanding.

"So then, of each of the components in the three types of chocolate, the most significant in determining the end result is the use of cocoa liquor. When more liquor is used dark chocolate is produced, when less is used milk chocolate results and when none is used white chocolate is the final product" summarized Benjirou to ensure his understanding.

"Exactly" Josh said in confirmation. "Now that you know all of that, are we ready to get started in making white chocolate treats for your lady-loves?"

Josh went through the steps to melt the white chocolate and soon directed them in making white chocolate truffles with strawberry filling, "Now, when it comes to using fresh fruits, always pay attention to ripeness and be careful of brown spots. Most of the time you can cut those away and still use the rest of the fruit, but if there are just too many, go ahead and dispose of them…preferably in a composting container. Next, go ahead and slice up the fruit and put it into the blender on puree. When finished, strain out the seeds using a fine screen strainer and cheese cloth. Note: You always want to use the cheese cloth when straining such things as strawberries, raspberries, and any other fruit with fine, tiny seeds or your girlfriend will be picking seeds out of her teeth all day and she won't be happy with you for it. Here, you can choose whether or not to add sugar as sometimes the fruit alone is good enough. Next, stir in some unflavored gelatin to provide your centers with some consistency. Last, set the puree aside in the refrigerator to allow it to firm up and so that the jelly won't melt the chocolate shells you just made."

He then went through the process of showing the boys how to fill the shells they had made earlier and then how to create the bottoms of the truffles.

"Say, did any of you get the chocolates from some of those other girls?" Eri asked of his friends.

"Un, and they tasted horrible" confirmed Benjirou.

"I think they scorched the chocolate or something" added Youga with a shudder.

"And that girl, Otome, went out and bought her chocolates; you could see Whitman's written all over the packages" Hotaka said as he joined the conversation.

"Forget those; did you taste the ones from our girls?" Tomohiro asked with a look of contentment in his eyes.

"Ah, those were transcendent!" spoke the boys in unison.

"I'm buying faux pearl studs and a white satin nightie with silk on the inside to accompany my hommei-choco for Suzuko; I made the nightie with mom's help" Tomohiro then quickly added and soon the boys were all indulging in nani all they would also be getting for their girls for White Day.

"It must be nice to have someone like your mom to help you make such fancy nightwear for your girlfriend. As for me, I'm buying a white sweater and a faux pearl broach for Chikako" added Kouji.

When classes were finished for the day, Josh sent the boys home with recipe books and double-boiler systems which the boys actually seemed excited about.

~White Day~

Akahana's POV

It was obvious that there was a bit of unrest and distrust amongst us girls that morning, though we just remained silent as the boys arrived and were escorted by their parents to their classrooms. After allowing them an hour to place their gifts upon the desks of the girls they chose to be with, we were all called to our classrooms.

Soon followed the sound of many sighs of relief with quiet whines and moans from the girls who were turned down by the boys they had been hopeful for. My friends and I all turned and smiled to one another as we picked up our hommei-choco as well as our other gifts from _our _boys. Many jackets, sweaters, and shawls were donned immediately while still others would wait until the evening to try on their new items.

Momoko's POV

Suzuko proudly wore her new nightie later that night and even called up Tomohiro to personally thank him for his gifts, "Hai, it fits perfectly! *Giggle* I'm wearing it right now. Tomohiro! Iie, I'm barefoot. Iie, I'm not going to ask Mama to take a picture for your personal collection; nani are you, a hentaisha? True, so I guess I can look past that this time. You'll have to ask my daddy about that. I've got to go; Mom's waiting to tuck me in. Right, see you tomorrow; oyasumi nasai, Tomohiro-kun."

"So nani was that part about Tomohiro being a hentaisha?" I asked of her once she'd hung up the phone.

"He wanted you to take a picture of me in my new nightie for him to keep on his nightstand" Suzuko replied while blushing.

"Wait here then" I told her and dashed back to the main hall where I took my digital camera off its charger and soon took her back up to her bed room where I had her take up a cute and slightly seductive pose.

"Nani was that for?" she asked of me after I'd taken the picture.

"For your father" I told her in a half-truth; I'd later make two copies of the photo and give one to Luke and the other to Tomohiro.

I then tucked Suzuko into her bed and kissed her oyasumi nasai before returning to our home office where I printed the two copies of the photo out and placed them into small frames. I then wrapped them up in small boxes and wrapped them along with a couple of notes to the two men they were destined for. I then slipped the one into Suzuko's book bag before joining Luke up in bed and giving him the other one.

"Whoa; you know, she takes after you in so many ways" Luke commented both of us as he set the photo back into its box as he'd take it to work to set up on the mantle of his office where he kept all of his personal photos of the girls and me.

The following morning the girls headed off for school after I finished explaining to Suzuko that I wanted her to give the one small box to Tomohiro and to be sure that he didn't open it until his mom read the note that was included with it first.

Miyako's POV

When the boys came home later that afternoon, Tomohiro called me into his room for a private talk where he presented me with a small box with a note attached to it.

'_Tomohiro was interested in having a photo of Suzuko, so I took this one of her just for him, but ONLY if you approve first. – Momok_o' the note read and I opened the box to see the small photograph frame and the pictures that were inside.

I sighed and giggled after a couple of minutes and then told Tomohiro, "You need to call and say 'arigato' to Momoko-san for the fold out picture frame and these photos of Suzuko."

I handed the frame to him and his cheeks turned bright red as his eyes went wide for a couple of minutes before he said, "I'll go do it right away!"

Takaaki listened in on the conversation, done as a safety precaution, and he sent me a questioning look after Tomohiro hung up the phone and headed off to take his bath.

"Momoko is going to make a hentaisha out of that boy" Takaaki said with a sigh once he'd seen the photos.

"Especially when you see the secret hidden photo" I replied as I opened a secret compartment and showed him the picture within.

"Are we going to allow him access to this one?" Takaaki asked of me.

"Hai, we are" I replied with a smile as I sent him a come-and-get-me grin before taking off for our room.

Once the boys were all tucked into bed, we returned to our room where we walked out onto the screened-in balcony where he hand fed me some white chocolate-covered strawberries while I was wearing his favorite light-blue see-through sheer nightie and nothing else. When the chilly night wind blew, we returned to our room where we made love to one another until we fell asleep for the night.

Momoko's POV

We all met up at the lab that weekend to spend some quality time together, letting the kids play while we adults chatted and caught up on news with one another. At one point Suzuko and Tomohiro both disappeared to the indoor heated pool to play together and many of us thought little of it until after some time had passed when I realized one very important detail: neither of them had brought their bathing suits with them.

Miyako and I shot each other glances of realization and took off for the indoor pool to find Kuriko watching over the two of them as they innocently played together while in the buff. At one point in our watching them, I noticed Suzuko release a tired yawn and they both laid out on the same lounge, her in front of him, and took a nap together.

"It's a good thing that they're still in their age of innocence" Miyako said to me with a grin.

"Hai, but that won't last for much longer; they're eight now, but in at least a couple more years, they'll start thinking of each other as more than playmates" I noted to her in reply.

"Then let's agree to work heavily on their sense of morals so that they will know how to properly behave around one another" Takaaki said as he and Luke entered the pool room to slip the two sleeping children into their underclothes.

When we returned to the main room, we saw the other adults watching over and smiling down upon the other children as they were all napping together, each boy with his girl, and I couldn't help but begin to wonder nani their futures held for them.

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><p><strong>Carly: A rather short but sweet chapter.<strong>

**TCW: Almost literally.**

**Carly: *Giggles* True; so nani is next on the agenda?**

**Next time…**

**Kaarii: A little more on our little family.  
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**Hikari: Me; a Pâtissière?  
><strong>

**TCW: All this and still more to come!  
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**Carly and Momoko: But only if you remember to leave us some nice reviews!**

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><p><strong>*footnote:<strong> Hommei-choco means chocolates of love; special chocolates made for those one is close to, i.e. spouse, girl/boyfriend, etc.

Giri-choco means obligatory chocolates; given as a matter of good manners and tends to be small generic chocolates.

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><p><strong>Author's Note: It should be noted that as indicated, in Japan, Valentine's Day is when girls give gifts of chocolate to guys. Conversely, a month later, on March 14<strong>**th**** is when White Day is celebrated and the reverse occurs, though, giving gifts of white chocolates, jewelry, and white lingerie (the latter two most likely between married couples as opposed to children) as the return gift is supposed to be double to three times the value of the chocolate gift received on Valentine's Day. See Wikipedia, search White Day, for further details. – The Cat Whispurrer**


	85. Pâtissière Prodigy

**Arigato for the reviews, everyone. Okay, for this next chapter, I took a lot of it from Episode One of Yumeiro Patissiere and added some of my own changes. So now let us join Hikari as she learns that she's really a...**

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><p><strong>Pâtissière Prodigy<strong>

Over time Kaede took an interest in gymnastics and Hotaka took an interest in music to the point where they were constantly practicing and, as usual, were excelling in it. Kaede would practice much of the time on the jungle gym; weather permitting. Hotaka would practice his violin lessons in front of Hikari who loved to listen to the beautiful music.

Needless to say, we had to ask May, my gibo, to help out in the shop and to watch over Hikari while Josh and I were running Hotaka and Kaede off to practice. But it would be when we returned home that the hidden truth would always come out, though being told to us by Sherbet and Clemintina.

May's POV

I had just arrived at Kaarii's and Josh's pastry shop and while Josh explained everything to me to cover the day's pastry selections, Kaarii was waiting for Kaede and Hotaka to finish getting ready to head off for their lessons.

I stood at the door waving to them while Hikari stood out front, doing the same when I noticed the sad look on her face as she slowly turned and returned inside. I watched her as she walked through the bakery and out to sit on her swing set alone.

"I wonder if her parents are aware of how she feels" I heard Sherry ask in concern from the back door with Sherbet and Clemintina beside her.

"I don't know, but I know how to make her smile again" I replied as I slid in the tall rack of trays into the walk-in oven before turning and starting on a small chocolate treat for Hikari.

It was a quiet day with iie business except for window shoppers, so I stepped out to take Hikari's treat to her only to hear her quietly crying while sitting on a swing.

"Tears don't look good on you, Hikari-chan" I told her, remembering something my mother would tell me whenever I was crying. "Here, try this and you'll be smiling again in iie time."

She soon looked up and wiped the tears from her eyes before slowly taking the treat from my hands and taking up the small fork to try a bite; a small smile soon traced her face and I said, "See; iie one can help but smile when they try my treats."

"Where did you learn to make such things?" she then asked of me while finishing her treat.

"I studied to become a pâtissière in a place called St. Marie Academy in a city call Paris way over in France" I told her while sitting with her on the swings.

"I want to become a pâtissièr like you, mama, and daddy" she then told me after we returned inside and had finished washing up.

I could help but chuckle before I corrected her, "You mean a pâtissière; a pâtissièr is a man"

"I want to become a pâtissière then" she said, correcting herself.

"I'm sure one day you will" I told her with a smile.

**~A few years later~**

Kaarii's POV

"Come on, Hikari, we're going to be late!" I called up the stairs with Hotaka and Kaede standing on either side of me.

"I'm almost done!" she called back down to me.

She soon came running from her room only to trip on her own two feet as she was starting to come down the stairs and tumbled down the stairs.

"Are you daijobu?" I asked of her in concern.

"I'm okay" she replied as I helped her up.

"That's the third time you've tripped this week" I told her as we dashed out the door to the car.

"So she tripped again?" Josh asked of me after I told him nani had happened.

"I know; that's the third time this week" I replied.

"I guess being hard-headed can come in handy sometimes" Kaede joked and we all enjoyed a light laugh.

We arrived at the symphony hall where many students were performing their first recitals and after Hotaka to the back of the hall, we went off to find our seats.

"Entry #18, Jones Hotaka, will be playing 'Spring' a violin concerto by Antonio Vivaldi" announced their sensei as Hotaka walked out onto the stage a bit stiff-legged.

'_Nani is with Hotaka's walk_?' Hikari asked of herself.

He turned to the audience and bowed, but his sheet music fell out of his folder and so he had to quickly pick up and rearrange them before setting them upon the music stand. Taking up his bow, he made ready to begin, but his arm seemed to lock up on him.

"Hotaka, are you daijobu?" asked his sensei in a whisper.

'_My arm's locked up; I can't move it_' Hotaka said to himself in concern.

The audience began to quietly murmur when Hikari jumped up and yelled out, "Hey, I didn't pay this kind of money to come to the recital of the great Jones Hotaka only to miss out on this moment!"

Everyone in the audience and on the stage turned and glanced at Hikari in reproach for speaking out so loudly but Hotaka just smiled as he began to flex his arm and soon began playing flawlessly.

Hotaka won the trophy and while many reporters began taking photos of him before asking for photos of me and Josh along with them. At one point, I turned to notice Hikari turn and walk away.

'If not for her, Hotaka wouldn't have won his recital' I noted to myself but iie one was interested in learning the identity of the one who shouted out when Hotaka's nerves caused his arm to lock up.

While leaving to catch up with Hikari, I heard many people speaking to one another of how inappropriate and disrespectful that one child had been to speak out so loudly and all I could do was to shake my head, 'If only they knew...'

I then noticed Hikari dip into a place with a sign overhead saying, 'Sweets Show' and realized that she must have been feeling down again.

Hikari's POV

Walking outside so as to escape the pushing, shoving, and stuffy atmosphere, I began to walk across the street when I soon noticed the sweet aromas drifting off of many of the other pedestrians when I looked up to see a sign that read, 'Sweets Show.'

Getting a tray, I began to walk around collecting up a few sweets that caught my attention the most when I finally reached the checkout counter and realized that I had forgotten my wallet.

"Nani is wrong, Hikari-chan?" I heard dad ask of me as I was getting ready to put the treats back.

"In my hurrying to get ready for Hotaka's recital, I forgot my wallet at home" I replied with a sigh.

"Don't worry, I've got this one" Dad told me.

I soon found a table and sat down to try the treats while many more people began to surround Hotaka and Mama, Hotaka managed to slip away from them for a moment to come over and say, "Arigato for calling out like that, Hikari-chan. I never felt so nervous and you gave me something to focus on more so than the rest of the audience."

"Hey, aren't you the girl who…" one of the reporters started to ask of me only to be cut down by Hotaka.

"…who helped me to get over my nervousness? Why, hai, she is" Hotaka said before planting a kiss upon my cheek.

Taking a bit of a piece of chocolate cake, I was forced to stop when I tasted it and soon went in search of the table where I had gotten it from; there was something familiar about the recipe.

"Is there something wrong with my cake?" asked the concerned voice of an older boy and I turned to notice a tall, blonde haired, blue-eyed boy standing behind a table.

"Iie, it just tastes so familiar I was wondering where you acquired the recipe" I replied to him.

"It tastes familiar? But that's not possible; only one school in the entire world teaches this particular recipe" he said in surprise.

"Well, I don't mean to offend, but my obaachan used to make this very same cake for me whenever I was sad and crying in order to make me smile again" I told him semi-apologetically.

"You say your obaasan used to make this cake? Did she ever say where she learned to make it?" he asked of me.

"Hai, she said she learned it while attending Saint Something in France" I replied.

"Saint Marie Academy of Paris, France?" he asked of me in surprise.

"Hai, that's it" I confirmed.

"This very recipe was created by my idaina, idaina obaasan who founded St. Marie Academy and shared it with only one other person outside of the family, an especially talented student. Tell me, nani was the name of your obaasan?" he asked of me.

"Jones May" I told him.

"I knew it! Onegai, where is your obaasan now; I have so many questions to ask her" he told me and I couldn't help but look at the floor.

"She died a couple of years ago" I replied sadly.

"Gomen nasai, and here I've done nothing but bring back sad memories for you" he said to me.

"Oh, iie, it's daijobu; you didn't know" I said in forgiveness.

"And to think, you got all of this from one bite of my chocolate cake; you must have an extraordinary palate" he said in praise and I couldn't help but blush.

'Did he just praise me; I've never been praised for anything but being a stupid klutz before' I noted to myself in surprise.

"Onegai, come with me; I want you to taste a new recipe I'm working on" he said as he led me behind the booth and began to prepare a special treat that I'd never seen before.

He took up a plate and swirled strawberry syrup upon it before setting a slice of the cake upon it and soon adorned it with a vanilla wafer that looked like the wings of a butterfly. Taking up the small fork he offered me, I took a bite and indulged in the decadent flavors and they melted together.

"Onegai, tell me nani is on your mind?" he asked of me quietly.

"Oh, such soft and sweet milk mousse; it overflows a vivid strawberry sauce, which melts on the tongue. The two flavors come together leaving a bittersweet sadness before disappearing altogether. Almost like...a first love" I said as I savored the flavors.

"That's amazing! The name of this cake is 'First Love'. I made it with the image of a girl's first love" the elder boy replied in astonishment.

"However, the strawberry sauce has a distinctness to it that tells me it was not made from organically grown strawberries while the fresh strawberries are truly organically grown and therefore the reason for my initial confusion but thus renders the flavor combination to be more accurately referred to as a girl's first crush as opposed to her actual first love" I continued in criticism and causing the poor boy to fall over sideways.

"Wait, you can tell whether or not something is organically grown by the flavor?" he asked of me as he stood back up.

"Hmm, between my obaachan and my best friend, both of whom are organic gardeners, I've actually learned how to differentiate between the two" I replied honestly.

"With such a refined palate you would do well at Saint Marie" he noted to me and I blushed again.

'Did he just praise me again?' I asked of myself.

He then handed me a brochure on Saint Marie Academy with a confident smile as he said, "I really do hope you look into becoming a pâtissière at Saint Marie Academy; it would be a shame to have such a talent as yours wasted."

"Uh, I'll consider it" I replied with a humble bow as I turned and dashed over to where the rest of my family stood waiting for me.

When we returned home later that afternoon and after we had all gotten washed up, Mama, Hotaka, and I decided to sit down and read about St. Marie Academy while Daddy sat quietly half-listening to our conversation; Kaede had 'other business' to attend to, though I didn't understand it.

"Sugoi, this new facility sounds really nice" Mama commented.

"And look at the layout of the campus; it looks like a regular university" noted Hotaka.

"How far away is it?" Daddy asked from reading his newspaper.

"About four hours by car" I answered.

"FOUR HOURS?! *coughs* You can't transfer, it's too far away" Daddy replied.

"I WANT TO BE A PATISSIERE!" I shouted back.

"And so you shall, Hikari-chan" Mama replied as she set a calming hand upon my shoulder. "I've always felt apologetic towards you for putting so much focus on your shimai and kyodai. I never stopped to consider your feelings and you always held them in, but I always saw them brimming on the edge."

"Oh, Mama" I said as I dropped into her arms.

"But how is she to get there and back home every day?" Daddy asked.

"They have gender-segregated dormitories" Hotaka answered.

"Dormitories; then that means… I forbid it; it's too expensive" Daddy answered as though in finality and I began to feel crushed.

Mama quietly stood up and left to the closet off the genkan and soon returned with a golf club in hand.

"Are you going to sit there and tell me that it's too expensive to send out little girl to school when here you are wasting good money on new golf clubs when you are so lousy at the sport and frequently come home cursing the clubs?" Mama asked with a fiery background and flames surrounding her while pointing the club at Daddy.

Daddy recoiled in fear and surprise at the fact that Mama knew about his new golf clubs before finally replying in defeat, "Very well, then."

"Yatta!" Hotaka and I cheered together.

"But, can't she go to the more local campus that you and I attended?" Daddy then asked of Mama.

"They closed that one when they opened their new facility and this new one is much more spacious, not to mention having a much better curriculum" Mama returned with a light smile. "Now, to transfer you, but before I do that, I want to set down some ground rules with you, Hikari-chan."

"Nani kind of rules?" I asked.

"The rules are as follow: 1) you must email us every day to let us know you're daijobu; 2) you are to call us each weekend; 3) study, study, study, but above all, do your best" Mama told me.

"4) IIE BOYS" Daddy added only to get a dirty look from mama. "Besides, you already have a boyfriend."

"That reminds me, I need to tell Kenji" I then noted aloud.

His response wasn't quite nani I had hoped it would be, "Iie, I'm not happy about it! How in the world am I supposed to converse with you when you're hundreds of kilometers away?!"

"But, I thought you'd be happy for me. It's always been my dream to follow in Obaachan's and Mama's footsteps to become a pâtissière" I told him, feeling a bit hurt.

"Well nani about attending La Cordon Bleu, or La Cullinaire, or one of the more local universities?" he asked of me, trying to keep his temper.

"Exactly, they're universities; this is an actual school for Elementary School students on up to High School where they base their whole curriculum on cooking" I told him.

"And nani about us?" he then asked of me.

"I'll email you every day, just like I have to do with my own family" I offered.

"Very well, I wish you the best in your new venture. Sayonara, Hikari-chan" he finally said in defeat, though there was a hint of something else in his voice as he hung up the phone.

My things were packed and my family saw me to my bus; they couldn't accompany me for obvious reasons. I had hoped Kenji would have found a way to see me off, but he never showed.

Riding along in silence, I just watched the scenery go by for hours on end when finally my stop was announced. I stepped off and look around as it seem as though I'd been dropped off in the middle of nowhere as I started walking up a long, wide path which soon opened up to reveal the massive campus that was Saint Marie Academy.

"This place is enormous!" I said aloud as I approached a statue in the middle of the front courtyard.

"Hey, you must be Jones Hikari" said a friendly voice and I turned to see a girl around my age jogging down the steps to one of the buildings with a smile on her face.

"Hai, but how did you know who I was?" I asked in confusion.

"We don't get many new students so late into the first semester and even then it's unheard of for any student to receive such a strong backing from Lucas Henri, Jr. By the way, my name's Kashino Natsume and I am your roommate" she replied with a bow.

"It's a pleasure to meet you" I replied with a bow of my own. "You know, this statue reminds me of the Sweets Queen, or at least some of the stories I've heard about her."

"Well that's because she is the Sweets Queen, ruler of the Sweets Kingdom and queen of the Sweets Spirits" Natsume replied.

At hearing this, I removed a couple of homemade Milano cookies from my shirt pocket and placed them at the statue's feet before stepping back and bowing to it as I requested, "Onegai, watch over me and help me to do my best."

"Uh, it's a statue, not a Buddhist shrine" Natsume said while sweat-dropping.

"I know, besides, I'm Jewish; I just happen to believe in Sweets Spirits" I replied honestly as we took off for our dorm room.

After getting my clothes put away, I set up my laptop and instantly logged on to the school's Wi-Fi service when Natsume came in and told me, "I'm heading to get some dinner and then to take a bath; would you like to accompany me?"

"You bet" I replied as I closed down my computer and followed after her.

After getting cleaned up, I sat down at my computer and sent an email to Mama to let her know that I had arrived safely and even made a few new friends, though I withheld the fact that I had also made one enemy of this one boy. I mean, I like chocolate as much as the next girl, but there is such a thing as too much chocolate and even then the quality of said chocolate and the guy took it as an insult and started to belittle me.

Sliding into bed after sending the message, I released a tired yawn as I clicked off the light and was soon asleep.

The following morning, Natsume and I met up with the rest of the class dressed in bakers' hats and aprons when the sensei announced, "Daijobu, class, as you all know we have a new transfer student and she has yet to be assigned to a group. Jones-chan, from now on you will be part of Group B."

There was much murmuring after she had announced this and I instantly knew that this was going to be one of the hardest years of my life as I had also been paired up with Chocolate-Rules-san, Kenshin.

First lesson was making crepes and while everyone was concentrating on making the batter, I was busy checking for organic strawberries. Once I found some, I diced them up and put them into a blender. Once they had been pureed, I strained out the seeds before adding the puree to my own batter and was soon setting to work on making perfect strawberry crepes before preparing a double boiler system and melted some white chocolate and thinly slicing up some more organic strawberries.

This done, I took up a plate and set down a crepe, applied a thin layer of white chocolate with a small ladle and then placed a few slices of strawberries atop it before laying down another crepe and repeating the process until I got to the top crepe. For the very top, I sprayed a bit of decoratively applied some whip cream, stuck a strawberry on top, and lightly drizzled the remaining white chocolate over the whole thing.

"Nani kind of monstrosity is that?!" asked the one boy in anger. "Are you trying to make us fail?"

Sensei then came over and cut out a slice of my concoction and took a bite before smiling and complimenting, "Very well done, Jones-chan."

"Arigato, Sensei; I'd have used sliced bananas instead, but the bananas were neither ripe nor organically grown" I replied with a bow.

"Does it matter whether or not fruit is organically grown?" inquired Natsume from across the classroom in Group A.

"Hai, the fruit doesn't have as rich a flavor and the chemicals used to spray the plants with can also leave behind a residual effect to the flavor as well as on the skin. In very much the same way, canned fruits can take on a slight metallic taste which is why it is far better to buy or store your fruits in glass jars with plastic wrap between the fruit and the metal lid" I replied honestly and this seemed to catch everyone's attention.

"She also used white chocolate, so why are you so uptight, Kenshin?" asked one of my teammates of Kenshin.

"White chocolate is not real chocolate!" he barked back as he finished his own crepes with milk chocolate syrup.

We were all given passing grades, but Kenshin would still confront and belittle me further about my stance on using organic fruits before saying quite firmly, "Stay out of my way!"

I took off running into the rain and ran back to the bus stop to be alone. How was I to learn when iie matter how much I tried, I would also be put down by one of my teammates. The bus soon arrived and stopped, but I waved it on as iie one was getting off and soon returned to my room.

"I don't get nani so many of the other girls see in that baka, Kenshin. You shouldn't let that guy's words get to you, Hikari-chan; you are way better than him and because of nani all you said in class today, the administrators are now ensuring nothing but organically grown fruits and vegetables be used and served from here on. And there is such a thing as too much chocolate" Natsume said as she was washing my back for me.

"I wish Sensei had placed me into your group, Natsume-chan" I replied quietly.

Once we had dried off and dressed, I sat back down at my computer and wrote into my journal that I was more determined now than ever to prove myself before emailing my family to let them know how my first day went, though once again, I refrained from mentioning Kenshin.

Unable to get any sleep, I returned to the kitchen where I pulled out a bowl and some ingredients to bake a small cake. Normally I would make a chocolate cake when I was feeling down, but right now the whole thought of chocolate annoyed me, so I settled for something different, unique, and more to my specialty: a watermelon cake.

Putting the ingredients together from scratch and flavoring the batter with watermelon juice instead of the typical vanilla, I then began mixing in the milk, eggs, and white chocolate chips into the batter; I'd normally use dark chocolate chips, but given my current mood, decided against it. After mixing the ingredients, I then pour it into a pan and set it into the oven to start baking prior to turning and setting to work on the two frostings, using lime juice and green tea to give them their greenish colors. Once finished, I checked on my cake, extracted it, and used a toothpick to ensure the batter was properly cooked all the way through.

"Ah, perfect! Now to let it cool for a couple of minutes and then I can frost it" I said aloud.

Taking the two frostings, I scooped out a little of each onto the top of the cake and began to swirl them together so as to present the illusion of watermelon rind. Once done, I then took up a piping bag full of green tea ganache and spread it around to represent the vine and leaves. Once finished I stepped back and admired my handiwork before releasing a tired yawn.

I began to clean up after myself and when I turned around, I saw a Sweets Spirit waving a spoon over my cake as a card rose up from it and flew towards the giant painting of the Sweets Queen who took hold of the card and added it to the book in her hand.

"Okay, who are you and how did you do that?" I asked of the small girl dressed in a red-orange dress that ended in a mini-skirt with a yellow-orange vest with matching stockings, and red-orange Mary-Jane shoes. She had blonde hair that flowed down to her ankles and wore a red-orange hair band to hold it back.

"I'm Persimmon and I have been searching for a partner whose tastes match that of my own for some time now. And after watching you perform today, I do believe you're the one I've been looking for" she told me.

"Sugoi, my own Sweets Spirit partner; wait until I tell Clemintina and Sherbet" I exclaimed happily.

"You know Clemintina and Sherbet? But how can you know them?" she asked of me in mild confusion.

"They're my Mama and Daddy's partners" I told her.

"Sugoi, that is something! I knew you were special and I'm sure we'll make great partners!" Persimmon said happily.

I then yawned again and she soon yawned right after me, so we decided to head off for bed.

Up the next morning, we were quietly heading for breakfast while Persimmon explained to me the purpose of sending special recipe cards to the Sweets Queen, "Oh, so that's why you did that with the cake I made. Oh iie, I forgot all about putting it away!"

I then ran back to the classroom only to find my cake had gone missing from my work station and was now sitting under a glass dome upon Sensei's desk and already had a slice cut out of it.

"Well, iie point in worrying about it now. You'd better get some breakfast or you're going to be hungry when class begins" Persimmon advised and so we left for the cafeteria where I got a couple of pancakes and spread a berry medley over the top before adding some strawberry syrup.

Persimmon and I shared the pancakes and I couldn't have been happier to know I had my own Sweets Spirit. After breakfast and brushing our teeth, we headed off to class with Persimmon hiding in my pocket. However, when I entered the classroom, the first thing I noticed was the Sensei standing by her desk with a hand upon her hip and looking over the class in mild annoyance.

"Nice of you to finally join us, Jones-chan" Sensei said as I ran to my station.

"Gomen nasai for my tardiness, Sensei" I apologized and she just nodded her head in acceptance.

"The cake you see upon my desk was found this morning sitting upon a side table. Now at first I didn't know who had made it, but when I tasted it, the answer was clear. Someone has been working towards some extra-credit and has thus decreased their group's supplies by a significant amount" Sensei then announced to the classroom in an accusatory manner.

"Gomen nasai, Sensei, but I was angry and couldn't sleep so I decided to bake a cake the way I do at home whenever I can't sleep for any one of a number of reasons" I apologized, willfully taking the blame, and now stood awaiting punishment.

"I knew it was you, Jones-chan, as soon as I tasted this divine piece of work. My only question is: why were you angry?" she asked of me.

"I'd rather not talk about it and to put the event behind me" I replied.

"Very well, you are rewarded ten extra points for this creation, but I would like a copy of your recipe; this is truly unique and decadent" she replied as she sliced up the rest of the cake and began to pass it around.

"You call this piece of trash decadent; there's iie chocolate!" Kenshin fussed as he threw away his piece of my cake.

"It's because of your attitude that I'm starting to despise chocolate!" I fired back as I turned my back upon him.

There, it was said and now out in the open. Tears were again brimming in my eyes and I had never felt so angry.

A boy from Group A came over and sampled the cake before saying, "I think Jones-chan's talents would be better served over in our group."

I turned and soon realized that my cake was being sampled by none other than Hanabusa Jr. from Group A. Only the most select students were allowed to join with his group. Even his partners, Andou Jr. and Kashino Natsume were nodding their heads in agreement.

"Very well, Jones-chan, you are to move your work station over to Group A" Sensei then announced amidst much murmuring from the other students.

Packing up my things, I moved over to stand with Group A which only seemed to anger Kenshin even further, but I didn't care; I was with some real friends now. And at one point, I glanced up to notice Sweets Spirits poking their heads out of their partners' pockets and smiling at me and now, more so than ever, I felt as though I truly belonged to this team.

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><p><strong>Carly: Another cute chapter! I hope you plan to go further on with this one.<strong>

**TCW: Perhaps, but a little later perhaps.**

**Carly: Okay then! So nani is in store for the next chapter?**

**Next time…**

**Kaoru: Hotel Pearl Piari wants to set up a facility not too far from the aquarium.**

**Lucia: Not to mention that we're having underwater issues with the topside.**

**Kaori: How do we hide our kingdoms from so many attempts to discover us?!**

**Rina: Find out by staying tuned to the next chapter!**

**TCW: Right you are, Rina-chan. All this and still much more to come!**

**Momoko and Carly: Just don't forget to leave us some nice reviews while you wait!**


	86. Miko the Mermaid

**Arigato for the reviews, friends. For this chapter, we get to join our friends as they prepare to meet…**

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><p><strong>Miko the Mermaid<strong>

Kaoru and her girls were also experiencing their own difficulties, but their problem was more from the topside than underwater.

Shirogane Miko's POV

"There it is again" I heard the sonar technician say from his station.

"Nani is it?" I asked of him; we'd been out studying underwater tectonic and geothermal activity off the coast for the past few weeks.

"It's that anomaly that we've been detecting in this same vicinity for the last few days. Something shows up on the sonar and just as quickly disappears" the technician replied.

"Perhaps we should take a closer look and investigate this anomaly a little more closely" I suggested.

"But, Shirogane-sama, the sonar is already at maximum output" noted one of the scientists onboard.

"I don't mean via sonar" I replied smartly.

"Sure you don't mean…"noted one of the other scientists.

"Hai, that's exactly nani I mean; now prepare the mini-sub. I'm going down there to take a closer look for myself" I instructed as I turned and headed for the ship's deck.

Many of the crew members were scrambling about as they were pulling back deck-plates as the mini-sub was raised up from the hold. The sub was being attached to the ship's crane while I was boarding the vessel and began to run a system's check of the submersible.

"You only have four hours of battery life, so keep an eye on your battery's indicator" noted my chief science officer.

"I'm well aware of that" I replied back over the radio.

"I'd prefer it if you took someone with you" he then told me.

"With you constantly looking over my shoulder, I'm never alone" I complimented him; given his age, he always felt more like an ojiisan to me than anything. "I'm slipping into something warmer, so I'll be turning the inside camera off for a moment."

"Duly noted; signal back when you're buckled into your seat" he then replied back over the ship's radio.

Now dressed in thick thermals and coveralls, I took to the helm and buckled myself in before reactivating the camera and reporting, "Daijobu, let's do this."

The crane hoisted the sub up into the air and was soon lowering it down into the water; not entirely smooth, but it could have been a lot rougher.

"I'm the coordinates to the location of the anomaly to your onboard navigation computer so that all you should have to do is sit back and enjoy the ride unless something unforeseen should occur" reported the sonar technician.

"Copy that" I confirmed as I watched the navigation computer receive and set the coordinates.

"The crane is now detached from the sub; you're free to begin your descent, Miko-chan" the chief science officer reported.

"I'm activating external lights and camera now" I reported as the submersible began to descend into the deep, following its auto-pilot programming.

Thirty minutes into the journey and the navigation computer ceased working from some unknown reason and I reported this back to the ship as I took manual control over the helm.

"The sonar up here has also ceased working, so we cannot track you. I suggest you return to the surface so we can pick you up and return to port" I head the science officer reply.

"Negative, as long as the battery holds out, I'm going to continue" I reported back firmly as I continued my descent.

Two hours later and just as I thought I was getting closer, a school of squid rose up from the deep and began to block my view and slow me down even further. Doing my best, I peered through the thick school of squid and caught a glimpse of some kind of light in the distance, but my cameras cut out on me; a default feature that occurred when the battery was getting low. Taking up my digital camera, I did my best to focus the viewer onto the light and snapped a photograph of the light just before more squid could block my view.

I tried to press on, but a pod of dolphins swam up and began to push against the sub as though trying to redirect and turn me around. I then heard the battery indicator's alarm starting to quietly sound and I had iie other choice but to begin my ascent back towards the surface.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say those animals were purposely trying to keep me from seeing whatever that light was" I noted aloud.

I had just broken through the surface of the water when the battery cut out completely on me and so I was left to wait for the ship to find and pick me up.

Back in port, I returned to my office where I printed out the one photograph of that strange light before calling up and making an appointment to meet with Himeko. It always sickened me that I had to go through her to get permission to do the things I wanted and needed done, but since I asked for the science division of the family's company, she got the Big Seat and now makes the financial decisions.

"Ohayo, Himeko-chan" I greeted her the next morning as I entered her office.

"Ohayo, Oneechan; nani can I do for you this morning?" she greeted in return.

"I was wondering if I could some financial backing on a project for a stealth submersible for our underwater missions" I told her as I placed the papers upon her desk.

"I was afraid that it was going to be something along those lines. Look at these" she said while indicating a stack of papers on the side of her desk. "These are forms, design specs, and financial requests for wind farms and geothermal generation plants and all are waiting for me to read over, approve/disapprove, and sign."

"Green energy initiatives?" I asked of her.

"Hai and they're giving me a headache. The overall benefits will be worth it in the long run, but it's getting there that's half the battle. But for now, let's focus on this submersible you're requesting; nani is it for anyways?" she asked as she briefly scanned over the papers.

"We keep detecting this strange anomaly out over the Northern Pacific Ocean and the sonar can just barely reach it. Yesterday, after detecting if for the third time, I went out in our usual submersible when I encountered the school of squid that seemed to be purposely blocking the camera's view. Soon afterwards, I was met by a pod of dolphin who began to push, prod, and batter the sub so that I got turned around and disoriented. That was when the battery's indicator alarm began to sound and I had to return to the surface. I was able to get this one photograph, but unfortunately, it's rather blurry" I told her as I showed her the picture.

"All I see is a bunch of squid; is there supposed to be something I'm to look for in particular?" she asked.

"This light right here; I think there's something down there and it keeps playing havoc with our sonars. Nani is more, I think it is somehow controlling the animals so that they intervene whenever someone starts getting close. I'd like to build this stealth submersible, which will have a longer battery life, so as to sneak up on the anomaly to figure out nani it is" I explained further.

"That's a pretty farfetched scheme, not to mention the fact that it could also pose a potential threat to the peace between Nihon and many other countries, namely the United States" she told me with a frown.

"Nani; I don't understand" I started to protest.

"Look, I know that it's merely to be used for underwater exploration and studies, but being that you're talking about stealth qualities, you're also talking about possible military applications and that's how they're going to see it" she told me and I opened my mouth to argue the point when she held up a silencing hand. "However, I would like to suggest that you go and speak with the Akatsutsumi-san-tachi as they know a lot about marine life. They may be able to help you come up with something that's much less likely to be misunderstood as being for militant applications. Who knows, they may even know nani this anomaly of yours is, though from nani I've seen, it looks like some sort of bioluminescent animal."

"Arigato, Himeko-chan; I'll go meet up with them right now" I told her with a humble bow.

"Oh, and if you have some spare time around 1, I'd love some company for lunch" she told me as I turned and left out of her office, but not before sending her a smile and nodding my head in agreement.

Lucia's POV (Previous Day)

"Man, those people are stubborn!" I complained after defending my undersea kingdom from being found by some surface-dwellers.

"It is human nature to be curious and to want to understand the unknown" Rina replied almost in their defense.

"Hey, look; something's going on further down the beach" Kaori called out as we were about to head up the stairs to the balcony of our condo.

"Construction vehicles; I don't like the look of that" I said with a frown.

"…it really is going to be nice having one of your hotel's chain locations not too far away, Taki-san" we heard mom say as she and an older woman stepped out onto the balcony.

"I'm just grateful that you and your husband were agreeable enough to allow us to build not too far from your beautiful aquarium. I really do feel that our two businesses will find one another mutually beneficial in the long run.

"Mama, there are construction vehicles on the beach not too far away" Kaori told her.

"I know; this is Taki-san, she owns a hotel called Pearl Piari and is having another branch of her hotel built down the beach from us" Mom told us as she also introduced us to the woman with her.

"My, such lovely daughters you have, Kaoru-chan; you must be proud" Taki-san said with a smile to us.

I offered a polite smile in return, Kaori blushed and beamed a bright smile back, and Rina looked at her in minor distrust, but we all politely said, "Arigato, Taki-san."

Taki-san soon left down the stairs to the beach so as to return to surveying the work being done on the new hotel when I reported to Mom nani had happened earlier.

"Well, they're ship's gone now, so go take your baths" Mom told us and we left for the furoba to get cleaned up.

Kaoru's POV

The next morning I was walking through the aquarium, a part of my morning routine that combined getting some exercise and checking on the health of our creatures into one, when I heard a rather sizable group approaching me. Turning, I soon saw Miko and a group of scientists coming around the corner and turned to see nani I could do to help them.

"Shirogane-sama, nani may I do for you this morning?" I asked of her.

"I was hoping that we could talk together somewhere more private" she replied and I directed them to the aquarium's private library.

I sat down on one side of the long table while indicating for Miko and her companions to take their seats on the other side as I inquired, "So nani can I do for all of you?"

Miko then related to me her experience from the previous day and I soon realized just nani it was that affecting their equipment, but decided to play innocent. She then handed me a photograph and told me of the light she had seen.

"It looks like it could be some kind of bioluminescence-producing creature; do you have any idea as to how far down you were?" I asked of her.

"Iie, unfortunately, much of my equipment had failed on me by that point, leaving me with only the heater and engines, not to mention the battery indicator alarm was sounding at this point" Miko told me.

"Only thing is, if it were an animal, why does it appear one instant and then disappear from our sonar the next?" inquired one of the men.

"Hmm, I wonder; nani did you say the coordinates were again?" I asked in thought.

"We didn't" replied one of the other men until Miko shot him a dirty look.

"I'll bet it's one of our new deep sea cameras. You see we're trying to find and photograph rare and unusual animals such as the giant squid. However, the camera is sensitive to sonar and so whenever something producing a strong enough sonar frequency starts to get close to the camera, a shield that bounces the sonar off activates so as to protect the film" I then explained, lying through my teeth and hoping I was doing well enough that they would buy it.

"But whales and dolphins use sonar to communicate and hunt for food?" asked one of the other technicians suspiciously.

"Hai, but they rarely point their sonar straight down like a ship would. Also, only a very few species would be loud enough to cause the same level of damage that a ship's sonar could" I replied; I may be lying, but I also knew my facts about marine life and was playing it into my favor.

"Hmm, moving on; I'd also like to build a stealth submersible for undersea studies that would in iie way be confused for having any kind of militant applications and Himeko suggested I come talk to you about such an issue" Miko then told me.

"Well, sure; there are lots of examples in marine life that would more than likely suffice for such purposes, but it also depends on how big you want the ship to be" I replied honestly.

"Big enough to hold one person as well as the appropriate equipment, such as lights, cameras, robotic arms for gathering samples, and will run for a long period of time; my current submersible only has a four hour battery" she explained to me.

"You'll also want something that can withstand a lot of pressure and provide enough breathable air to last you a little longer than the duration of your stay" another technician added.

"Going by that kind of description, you would want something the size and possibly even the shape of an orca" I then noted to them.

"Why an orca?" asked Miko in confusion.

To answer their question, I showed them to Akihiro's tank where they could get a good look at just how big he really was; judging by the look on Miko's face, she quickly understood nani I was getting at.

"As you also know, Orcas are the true apex predator of the sea; not the great white shark as originally believed" I told them and they all seemed to further understand my point of view.

"So this design would also be safer around other underwater creatures" noted one of the technicians quietly.

"In short, but of course, you may still have some minor issues around some creatures, but you'd be least likely to be attacked by most of them; sharks especially" I commented.

"Would it be permissible for us to measure him and get a better idea as to nani we're dealing with?" Miko asked of me.

"I don't normally advise such a thing with so many newcomers, but I think I can get him to cooperate for at least two of you" I replied honestly.

"Actually, I'm getting ready to do all of that right now, Kaoru-san" our staff juui said as he was walking over to look at Akihiro.

"And you are…?" Miko asked.

"This is Kikashi, our staff juui" I replied as I introduced the two of them.

"Just one note: as part of safety policy, you will have to have your hair pulled back into a tight braid; can't have him harming you because he mistook your long hair for sea weed or a squid" Kikashi said, though still smiling.

"I'm afraid I don't understand" Miko replied unhappily until I went into explanation of an unfortunate incident involving a trainer and an orca.

"Don't worry, I have a special wet suit that you can slip into that will keep your head and hair covered so that you don't have to worry about such happenings" I reassured her as we left for the show hall.

The technicians that were accompanying Miko were allowed to watch from the bleachers as Miko, Kikashi, and I walked out onto the platform; I was also wearing a wet suit so as to keep from transforming into my Mermaid form.

"Just listen to Kikashi and you'll remain safe" I told Miko over my shoulder before diving into the water.

Miko's POV

"She's been down an awfully long time" I noted after five minutes.

"That's because she's using a re-breather. It's a special device that can literally extract the oxygen out of the water so as to allow her to breathe like a fish" Kikashi explained while lowering a sling into the water.

Just as abruptly, Kaoru broke the surface of the water on the back of the large killer whale and was coaxing it into the sling while saying, "That's right, big guy; you know the routine."

"Amazing;" "Extraordinary;" "That must take a lot of nerve," I heard some of my scientists exclaim from the other side.

Kaoru quickly dismounted the massive creature and was back in the water to be assisted by Kikashi in climbing out of the water while he also activated the crane to lift the whale from the water. Running up the stairs of a high platform, Kikashi read the numbers of the attached scale and quickly recorded the animal's weight before lowering it back down into the water.

Kaoru then summoned the animal right up onto the platform and it beached itself right next to me without giving me a second's notice.

They quickly pulled out a tape measure and measured the killer whale from the tip of its snout to the end of its tail before slipping it under the animal to measure its girth. Kikashi then examined the whale's eyes and respiration levels before looking into the creature's mouth.

"You've got one healthy behemoth of an orca here, Kaoru-chan" Kikashi told her before pulling out a needle and syringe.

"I know you don't like this part, Akihiro, but if you promise to cooperate, I promise extra squid for lunch" Kaoru told the large animal as Kikashi began to draw the animal's blood into a tube.

Finished and taking up his sample kit into one hand, Kikashi approached and took hold of my arm to draw me back a few feet before calling out, "You're clear to launch, Kaoru-chan."

Activating a switch, one end of the platform the whale was resting upon rose up enough to let it slide back into the water.

Kaoru's POV

While waiting for one of my assistants to bring me a bucket of squid for Akihiro, Miko approached me and said, "You've got more guts than I ever gave you credit for, Kaoru-chan."

"Arigato, but I've been working with Akihiro for many years now and he's really quite gentle compared to some of our other orcas" I replied as I received the bucket of squid and walked back to the water's edge and sat down, dangling my feet into the water.

"Knowing nani these creatures are capable of, I can't help but feel utmost respect in yours and his presence" Miko told me as she watched Akihiro's head break the surface of the water between my legs so as to allow me to feed him.

"Hai, well I'm just lucky that the other orcas respect him or one of them would have done me a serious hurt the other day" I told her; judging by her silence, she was waiting for me to explain.

~Flashback~

We were putting on a show for our visitors when one of the orcas grabbed a hold of my leg in its mouth and began to dive down with me. I kept gently smacking him on the nose as a means of reprimanding him, but he refused to let go of my leg.

Akihiro dove down and released a loud, angry screech and the one released me just as Akihiro plowed into him and began scolding the other whale. I began to head for the surface when Akihiro swam up beside me and turned in such a manner so as to allow me to grab hold of his dorsal fin and carried me back up to the surface, riding on his back. He then returned me to the platform where some of my fellow trainers began to check over me for damage; I was lucky to come away with only pressure marks from the other whale's teeth.

Akihiro and I stepped out early as he was showing aggression towards the other male who had grabbed me and I didn't need anyone getting hurt. Once away from the show hall and alone with Akihiro, I stripped off my wetsuit and dove into the water to swim with Akihiro so that he could see I was daijobu.

~End of Flashback~

"I would have been terrified to go back into the water with a killer whale after an incident like that" Miko commented when I had finished telling her my story.

"To be honest, I am a bit apprehensive about going into the water with that particular orca, but Akihiro and the females are an entirely different matter. The girls show him the utmost respect and, since he respects me, they likewise respect me. But that one male…I think he was trying to assert dominance over me so as to try to become the leader of the pod or something. Iie, I won't go back into the water with him unless Akihiro's in the water, too" I confessed as I finished feeding Akihiro his squid.

Akihiro turned his head in a manner that seemed sympathetic before ducking under the water to play with my feet, taking one foot into his mouth but refrained from applying any pressure; it tickled whenever he did this and I was soon giggling.

"He never could stand to see you unhappy" we heard Rikiya say as he was approaching us.

Akihiro then surfaced again, poking his head up far enough out of the water to kiss me on the cheek and I turned to kiss him back before standing up with a light blush in my cheeks.

"I'm surprised you're not acting jealous of that kind of affecting being display between your wife and her whale" Miko commented with a giggle.

"It used to, but when it almost cost me my then fiancé, I quickly overcame my jealousy and began to think of him almost as a surrogate child. So to nani do we owe the honor of your visiting with us, Miko-chan?" Rikiya asked and I began to experience a momentary panic that my lying would be revealed.

"We're just doing a little research for a project that my team and I are working on so as to study the underwater world better and Kaoru was kind enough to let me meet Akihiro personally" Miko replied simply. "But I'm afraid that I need to be going so that I won't be late for a lunch appointment with Himeko. Arigato again for all of your help and for allowing me to meet Akihiro, Kaoru-chan; you two are really something."

She then turned and left to change back into her normal clothes and she soon left with her entourage following. Once they had left, I went to get cleaned up myself.

Later that evening, while sitting down to dinner with Rikiya and the girls, he asked of me, "So nani all did Miko want today; it's not like her to come here without some ulterior motive."

"You're right, she wanted to build a stealth sub for doing underwater studies, but Himeko had told her that such a thing could easily be mistaken for having military applications, so she was wondering nani in nature would meet such qualifications without being mistaken for a military vehicle. She was also wondering if I could help her in identifying something in a photograph she had taken while on her last mission; I think she was close to Lucia's Mermaid Kingdom and spotted the castle, but I feigned innocence and told her that it looked like some kind of bioluminescent creature" I explained to her when I noticed Lucia look up in concern.

"So she was studying Akihiro so as to create a personal submersible that would look and act like an orca for future underwater explorations" Rikiya surmised.

"But mama, that's aiding the enemy!" Lucia yelled out in protest.

"I also told her that it was probably an underwater camera that we set up to take photographs of rare and unusual creatures like the giant squid; I normally wouldn't encourage lying, but this was for the sake of protecting our secret from being uncovered. Now all that remains to be seen is how well she bought and believes the lies I told her" I replied.

"And if she doesn't believe a single thing you told her?" Rina asked of me.

"If she likes exploring the underwater world so much, maybe we can ask Aqua Regina to 'help her'" Kaori said and we all quickly understood her meaning.

"It's something to shoot for and it would keep her quiet" Lucia added hopefully.

Miko's POV

With our new data, we went back to the lab where we began redesigning my new submersible and I was soon back in Himeko's office to discuss it with her.

As I entered Himeko's office, she was sitting up on a portable massage couch while Utonium-san was telling her, "I really think you'd find it much more beneficial to come down to the clinic for your massages, Himeko-chan; you never really relax enough while receiving your massages and therefore you're not getting the fullest benefit from them."

"I know, but with the way my father keeps tabs on me, if I step out of the office at any time other than leaving for home, lunch, or schmoozing with clients, he'll be all over me" Himeko explained with a sigh.

"I'm afraid she's right, Luke-kun; Dad's quite relentless about the family business being in the care of one of his musume-tachi" I added in Himeko's defense while watching fold up the portable massage couch.

"So next time you go to schmooze with a client, take them to a spa; you can relax, get your beneficial massage, and entertain your client at the same time" Luke suggested.

"I knew there was a reason why I liked you; you always have the answer to virtually every problem" Himeko commented and we all enjoyed a good laugh.

Luke left soon afterwards and I presented the new plans for the mini-sub to Himeko who agreed to help fund it as long as I shared my discoveries with Kaoru for obvious reasons.

A few months later, the sub was complete and had been tested for extreme depths and longevity of battery life, and we were heading back out to sea. This time, however, we were mostly testing the submersible while studying underwater geological formations; at least the was the official answer for the mission. In truth, I was seeking out that underwater light source as I felt that Kaoru had been fabricating the truth.

"You're too far off course, Miko-chan; are the gauges not working correctly?" asked the chief science officer.

"I'm examining other formations right now; I'll get back to our main directive when I'm finished" I replied.

"You're trying to find that light source again, aren't you? Matsubara-san told you nani it more than likely was, so why are you persisting in find it?" he asked of me.

"Because I think she was hiding the truth and that there's something more to it than nani she told us" I replied.

"So maybe they're working on an underwater project, is it our business to interfere with their work?" he then asked of me in his ojiisan voice.

"Look, I know everyone thinks I'm nekkyo, but I swear, I saw an underwater castle and the light was radiating from it. I'm going to prove to myself that I wasn't just seeing things and in the process, expose Kaoru's lies and reveal the truth" I told him determinedly. "Hold on, I'm starting to encounter a school of squid."

I knew I was getting close again as I dove down beneath the squids and was now being engaged by a pod of dolphin. I edged the throttle up to outrun the dolphin when a giant creature rose up from the depths and screeched loudly at me.

"Whoa, I've never seen an orca of those dimensions or colors before!" I said as I activated the camera to take a photo of a killer whale that was three times larger than normal and had its colors reversed.

It started to push against my submersible as though trying to brush me off, but I decided to persevere and continued to try to get past the animal. It grabbed hold of the sub's tail and caused it to nose down; I was able to pull myself out of a collision with the ocean floor at the last second but the whale was still on me and trying to push me into the seafloor.

I pulled up so as to try to show my intent of leaving, but the creature continued to ram me and I was starting to get a bit concerned. However, the animal seemed to know that I really wasn't going to leave as it continued to push into me.

"Nani is this; orca mating season or something?" I asked of myself aloud as I quickly outmaneuvered the beast and was now heading at a higher speed towards the light. "I was right! There is an underwater palace down here!"

That was when a bright flash of light enveloped my sub and seemed to penetrate the hull when I lost consciousness.

When I awoke, I found myself in a strange room and three young girls standing over me with their arms crossed and scowls upon their faces.

"Man, you're gankona!" fussed one girl with long, blonde, flowing braids.

"Where am I? Where's my sub?" I asked tiredly.

"You're in Lucia-chan's castle and your submersible is nose down in the sand" another girl with indigo blue hair said.

"Wait, if my ship's still at the bottom of the ocean then how did you get me out?" I asked as I tried to sit up.

"We may as well tell her the truth" noted a third one as she swam up above us and for the first time I noticed that the three of them were mermaids.

"You're mermaids!" I exclaimed.

"Brilliant deduction, Sherlock" one of them said sarcastically.

"And nani is more, so are you now" noted the second one as she pulled the blanket that had been covering me off to reveal that my legs were gone and had been replaced with the lower region of a yellow fish.

"Thus the result of your persistence; we tried to discourage you from sticking your nose where it doesn't belong, but you insisted and so as a result, you have also been rendered a mermaid" an older voice said and I turned to see Kaoru, also a mermaid, swim into the room.

"I knew you were lying to me about nani the light source really was" I told her accusingly.

"Hai, well the upper realm isn't quite ready to learn that Mermaids still exist and we've been diligently trying to keep it that way until such point in time as we were ready to show ourselves. If we were to do so now, we'd wind up on the butcher table of some scientists to be dissected" Kaoru replied firmly.

"Okay, I'll grant you that; but now that I'm a mermaid, too, the surface world is going to start wondering nani happened and will come looking for me" I told her with a sigh.

"And you can return to the surface world anytime you wish; you're mermaid body will morph back into that of a human one once you leave the water. But more to the point, while you've been turned into one of us, you have also been rendered Mermaid Princess of your own palace as well as being rewarded with the ability to become one of the Powerpuff Mermaids Z" Kaoru informed me and I turned to look at her in questioning.

"Gomen nasai, but I've been nani?" I asked of her in disbelief.

In reply, she opened the pendant around her neck and called out, "Green Pearl Voice." She was suddenly surrounded by a bright light which soon dissipated to reveal herself in her Powerpuff Mermaid Z form and I looked at her in amazement.

"And I now have the ability to do the same?" I asked of her.

"Hai, and your color is yellow" noted Lucia.

Being permitted to rise up from the bed, I examined myself in a mirror to take a closer look at myself. Opening my pendant, I saw a yellow pearl within and so tried my own transformation.

"Yellow Pearl Voice" I called out. I was now looking at myself, in a human form but I now wore a yellow mini-skirt that just came up over my knees, a yellow bikini top that displayed my midriff, yellow water socks, and white, fingerless, elbow-length gauntlets and upon my head, resided a coral crown.

"Well, this certainly is a change, but at least I can still breathe underwater… I can breathe underwater!" I exclaimed as I realized that I had been breathing underwater the whole time but hadn't noticed it before.

"Well, of course you can breathe underwater; nani did you think we were breathing all this time?" Rina asked smartly only to receive a swat to her o-shiri from her mother.

"Gomen nasai, I just never realized it before" I told the young girl.

"Let's see, yellow…yellow…yellow; ah, here it is! According to this, you're now the Mermaid Princess of the South Pacific Ocean" Lucia announced while reading a book that was sitting on an altar in the main hall of her castle.

"I'm the nani of the where?" I asked of her in confusion.

"I'm Mermaid Princess of the North Pacific Ocean; Rina is Mermaid Princess of the Antarctic Ocean; and Kaori is the Mermaid Princess of the Arctic Ocean. You are the Mermaid Princess of the South Pacific Ocean and Mom is the Mermaid Queen of the North Pacific Ocean" Lucia told me as she closed the book which had 'Mermaid Laws' written upon the cover.

"Daijobu, this is a lot to take in all at once not to mention that I need to be getting back to my submersible so as to return home" I said as I began swimming towards the exit.

"Just remember, now that you're one of us, you also must keep this a secret" Kaoru told me and I paused long enough to nod my head in agreement.

"Iie one would believe me anyways" I replied as I swam off, boarded my sub, and returned to the ship.

I received quite an earful when I returned to the main ship, but I just accepted the reprimand as we put back to port.

Kaoru's POV

We had another meeting of the three teams that weekend to discuss keeping up the P.R. of the Powerpuff Alliance Z and Miko eagerly joined us. I must say, it's really nice having yet another new member on our team and she was quite eager to get her own undersea kingdom rebuilt.

Of course, halfway through the meeting, I noticed Luke sending Kaarii some questioning looks as she seemed distant and Kaede seemed lost in thought on her own problems.

* * *

><p><strong>Carly: So now Miko is a Mermaid, that's an interesting twist.<strong>

**TCW: Arigato.**

**Carly: So nani is in store for the next chapter?**

**Next time…**

**Kaede: I don't know who this new girl is, but she's getting on my nerves.**

**Hyosuke: Not to mention that she keeps evading and outsmarting us.**

**TCW: That's right, a whole new opponent for our young Phantom Thieves to contend with; will they be successful or will this one prove too wily for them?**

**Momoko and Carly: Meanwhile be sure to leave us some nice reviews while you wait!**

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><p><strong>Author's Note: Okay, so I've been thinking that since I have approximately four different stories running in this one right now, would it be better to take three of them and make three different spin-off, cross-over series with them instead? So I've decided to put it to a vote and to allow my reviewers to make the ultimate decision. <strong>

**So, would you like to see a Mermaid Melody/PPGZ cross-fiction; a Yumeiro Pâtissière/PPGZ cross-fiction; and a Saint Tail/PPGZ cross-fiction? **

**Or, should I just leave it the way it is but put a stronger focus on the main storyline and less to the other three cross-overs?**

**Let me know in your reviews! – The Cat Whispurrer.**


	87. Pink Angel Cake Meets Nekomi-mi

**Arigato for the encouraging reviews, friends. For this chapter, we will be staying in Kaede's POV as...**

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><p><strong>Pink Angel Cake Meets Nekomi-mi<strong>

Missions were few and far between for me and Hyosuke, but when this new Kaitou came around, things really began to get difficult.

It started one evening when we were out on patrol over the city when we heard an alarm sounding and looked down to notice a girl of our age, wearing a grey full-body uniform with black boots and gloves with a whip on one side and a small bag on her other. There was an abnormally large, black cat running just ahead of her. The cowl that was covering her head even had neko ears.

Swooping down, I crashed into her from behind before doing a handspring off of her to land in front of both of them as I commented, "Who are you, Catwoman's fan?"

She looked up and glared at me and I noticed the grey mask with black sequins and nani looked like makeup whiskers upon her cheeks.

"I've iie time to play with a little birdbrain like you, Pink Angel Cake" she said with a growl as she released fighting claws from the backs of her hands and took a swipe at me with them.

I parried and only lost a few feathers just as she ran past me, tossed a smoke-bomb onto the ground and vanished into the night as I was engaged in a coughing fit.

"Pink Angel Cake, are you daijobu?" Black Forest Cake asked as he landed nearby and used his wings to blow the smoke away.

"Hai, but I think we have a new opponent and she's in this for her own personal gain" I replied as I began breathing a little easier.

"Gomen nasai, but I got here as quickly as I could" Black Forest Cake apologized to me as we entered the antique store that had its window smashed open.

"So, returning to the scene of the…oh, it's you two" spoke the elderly woman who owned the store and who was a friend of ours.

"Gomen nasai, but the thief got away from us" I apologized with a bow.

"And judging by the look of your left wing, I'd say that they were almost too much for you to handle" she commented as she approached me and checked the damage done my wing; as I thought, only a few trimmed feathers, but still, this thief was dangerous.

"Any idea as to nani she took?" Black Forest Cake inquired as he was looking over the display cases.

"Hai, she stole the Emerald-Eyed Jade Neko; a one of a kind piece that I was planning on donating to the local museum as it's from the Edo era" she told me while walking over towards the display cases where some of the old swords she carried were kept.

"Hmm, there's neko hair on this old couch; I wonder if it could have come from her feline friend" I pondered as the kindly obaasan came back with two wakizashi in her hands.

"Here, you're going to need these with this new opponent" she told us as she handed one to each of us.

The one in my hand matched my uniform perfectly as did the one Black Forest Cake was now holding.

"But we can't afford these" Black Forest Cake protested.

"Take them; I haven't been able to sell them since the day I opened and they match both of you perfectly. Besides, consider them my donation to your cause. Plus, the thief also stole my two black neko wakizashi; it's as though she has this thing for neko-based items of value" she noted to us.

"Then that may very well be the thing to help us track her so as to bring her to justice" I replied as I tied my new sword to my waist.

"Oh, and one more thing: I want you two to call me Obaachan from now on" she told us.

I turned to look up at her with tears in my eyes as I had lost my own obaachan a couple of years ago. I hugged her before replying, "Deal, Obaachan."

At that, Black Forest Cake and I left to return home, sharing a brief kiss before parting to slip into our respective bedroom windows; it had become a bit of a tradition for us and it was only a very brief kiss that we shared.

Mom sent me a questioning look as she saw the small sword upon my side which turned to concern when she noticed my trimmed feathers. I changed back before telling her nani had happened that night and even she approved of my now carrying a sword for extra protection; interestingly enough, my sword also vanished when I changed back.

"Perhaps it's for the better that it's now a part of your uniform" Mom commented as she helped me in getting undressed so that I could slip into bed.

Hyosuke quietly compared notes on the new perp while walking to school, "She almost sounds like a young Catwoman."

"Funny, when I collided into her, I asked if she was Catwoman's fan" I commented with a light giggle.

"Well, her M.O. seems to be the same, so we at least have something to use to base our search for her upon" Hyosuke noted.

We took to our desks after entering our homeroom when soon followed sensei who announced to the class, "We have a new student joining us today, class, so I'd appreciate it if you would provide them with a warm welcome to, Mimi."

A girl with shoulder-length black hair entered the classroom as sensei invited her in. She had green eyes and wore a grey 'Hello Kitty' t-shirt with black 'Totoro' shorts, grey socks, and black sneakers. She even had 'Hello Kitty' earrings, with a silver 'Go Lion' watch on her left wrist and a black 'Hello Kitty' bracelet on her right one. Judging by her well-toned body, I assumed that she was quite an athlete.

Hyosuke and I sent each other a questioning look before looking back at Mimi. There was something about her that made us suspicious, but we decided to keep quiet for the time being while joining the rest of the class in welcoming her.

"Now, let's see, where to put you" sensei started to say when Mimi studiously walked to the back of the class and took an empty desk.

"I do believe I found a nice location, sensei" she announced in a light voice.

"Oh, daijobu then" sensei replied before starting to write the day's assignments on the board.

Later, in gym class, Mimi showed up everyone on the box jump and rope climb.

"Looks like you're iie longer the best athlete in school" commented one of the other girls to me.

We then headed for lunch after getting cleaned up and the one thing that didn't pass my attention was not only the fact that Mimi sat alone, but her bento was filled with sushi, chicken, and a banana and she was drinking milk.

"She sure eats healthy" Hyosuke quietly noted to me as I was sitting sideways and leaning back against him.

"Hai; it almost makes me want to skip the red velvet cupcake Mama packed into my bento" I said in reply.

"Can I have it then?" Hyosuke asked quickly.

"I said 'almost'; I'll split it with you, though" I added back with a grin.

"Arigato, your mom makes the best cupcakes" Hyosuke replied as I cut the cupcake in half vertically.

I was carrying my trash to the trashcan and recycling bin when I almost ran into Mimi and accidentally spilled some water onto her shoes.

"Oh, gomen nasai, I didn't see you there" I apologized politely.

"Watch where you're going next time, you birdbrained baka!" she yelled as she pushed me into the trashcan before storming out of the cafeteria.

"Are you daijobu, Kaede-chan?" asked Suzuko as she and Hyosuke pulled me out of the trashcan.

"Un, I'm daijobu, dirty and sticky, but daijobu" I replied quietly.

"If I didn't have to get to kendo class, I'd give her a piece of my mind" Anzu said as she watched Mimi leave out the door.

"And then you'd get expelled" Akahana told her and Anzu released an exasperated sigh.

"Come on, Kaede-chan; I've got an extra set of clothes you can borrow. Akahana, could you let sensei know where we are?" Suzuko said as she led me back to the girls' showers.

While getting washed up, I got to thinking of nani Mimi had called me. It may have been coincidental, but I got this feeling that there was more to Mimi than meets the eye.

Whether or not Mimi received any kind of a reprimand for shoving me into the trashcan, she gave iie inclination as Suzuko and I returned to class. Sensei did look up and signaled me over to see if I was daijobu and I told her that I was; she just nodded her head in acceptance before dismissing me back to my desk.

Walking home after class, I shared my suspicion with Hyosuke, "She also seems to have this affinity for feline-based anime characters, but I don't think it's enough to for a solid conclusion."

"I know, but there are also her physical abilities to consider and when you put all three factors together, you can't help but notice the similarities between Mimi and our new opponent" I replied.

"And they could also be mere coincidences, mind you there are almost too many, but still, it's just not enough to base any accusations upon" Hyosuke reasoned and I had to admit that he had good point.

"Iie missions tonight?" Mom inquired as she came into my room after supper.

"Iie, too much homework since I had to miss some class to take that extra shower at school today" I replied, having already told her nani had transpired during class today. "Did the repairman say when he was going to get the A.C. fixed?"

"He'll be here tomorrow. Meanwhile, why don't you go ahead and take off your pajamas; you can finished doing your homework in your underwear" Mom told me before leaving out of my room.

Jumping up, I stripped off my pajamas before getting back to and finishing my homework. Looking up, I noticed Hyosuke using his flashlight to signal me that he was on his computer and ready to begin instant messaging with me.

*You're not peeping on me, are you?* I asked of him.

*Iie, I've got my blinds closed* he replied.

*That's good, otherwise I'd tell your Mom* I replied.

*I was thinking of heading off to run a survey of the city; care to join me?* he asked changing the subject.

*I would, but it's already getting late* I informed him.

*Good point. Oh, I noticed an article on the internet that says that the super rare Neko's Eyes Diamonds are to arrive at the museum this weekend. How much do you want to bet that the new thief will be targeting them for her next crime?* he asked of me.

*I stake Pink Angel Cake's wings on it* I replied.

*I've got to dash; Mom's at the door. Oyasumi to amai yume, Hikari-chan* he told me.

*Oyasumi to tanoshii yume, Hyosuke-kun* I bid him before logging off and clicking my light off.

The next morning, I met up with Hyosuke on the way to school when he and I got into a conversation regarding the new thief, "So do you think she'll make an attempt on the diamonds as they're in transit, or wait until they're on display at the museum?"

"I'd think she would wait until they're at the museum" I replied.

"That means heading out tonight and possibly every other night this weekend if we're to keep her from stealing them" Hyosuke pointed out.

"Which could also mean pulling late shifts, falling asleep in class, and getting in even more trouble with sensei, kouchou-sensei, and our moms" I noted with a sigh.

"Maybe we should inform them tonight so that they can help us skip school tomorrow" Hyosuke suggested.

"Hey, on your right, Bird-brains!" shouted a girl's voice as Mimi zipped past us on her bicycle once I'd managed to jump out of the way.

"I am really getting sick and tired of that girl and her attitude" I fussed in anger until Hyosuke set a calming hand upon my shoulder.

"We've more important things to worry about right now, so just try to let it go" he then told me.

"You're right; daijobu then, I'll try to ignore her. Oh, and I asked my mom to skip the sweets and just stick with a healthy and nutritious lunch from now on" I replied with a sigh.

"Me, too" Hyosuke returned as we entered the school and approached out lockers to put our stuff away.

I was just starting to collect my books together when Mimi walked up behind me, pushed me into my locker and slammed the door shut on me. She then banged on the door rather loudly a few times before saying, "Better hurry up, Bird-brains, or you're going to be late to class."

Once the ringing in my ears stopped, I tried to push open my locker, but the lock had engaged.

"Tasuke; is anyone out there; tasuke!" I called out in desperation.

"Kaede-chan, is that you?" a familiar voice asked.

"Anzu-chan, thank goodness; can you get me out of here?" I asked of her.

"Nani is your combination?" she asked.

"It's my birthday" I told her and she quickly spun in the combination and popped the door open just as Kouchou-sensei came around the corner.

"Jones-chan, nani on earth happened to you?" Kouchou-sensei asked of me while Anzu was helping me to climb out of my locker.

"I tripped and fell back into my locker causing it to rock just enough for the door to close and for the lock to engage" I lied.

"That's garbage, and you know it" Anzu fussed at me as Kouchou-sensei also crossed his arms in expectation.

With a sigh I told the truth, "…but I don't wish to make trouble for Mimi. I figure that maybe this is her way of acting out on her aggressions towards being made to transfer to a new school or something."

"It's still iie excuse for being an ijimekko" Anzu said.

"I'm afraid that Utonium-chan is correct; we've a guidance counselor for that" Kouchou-sensei said before walking us to class.

Upon arrival, we were allowed to sit at our desks while Mimi was called out into the hallway to be spoken with. I don't know nani was said, but when she was permitted to return to her desk, Mimi shot me a hate-filled glare. I decided to avoid her at all costs for the rest of the day; a tactic that worked for me until the end of the school day.

Hyosuke and I were walking home when Mimi jumped down upon me from up a brick wall and thus engaged me in a fight.

"Hey, that will be enough of that" a deep voice shouted as someone grabbed a hold of Mimi and pulled of her off me.

"Let me go!" she yelled as she turned around to try to hit the person who had her but froze up when she saw him.

"I said that will be enough" Luke-san told her firmly and for the first time, I actually saw fear cross her face. "Now go home and cool off" he then told her as he released her and Mimi took off running.

"Are you daijobu?" he then asked of me.

"Hai, just a few scratches and bruises" I replied as he helped me up. "You could've helped me, Hyosuke."

"I can't hit a girl" Hyosuke replied while casting his eyes to the ground.

"Iie, but that doesn't mean you have to stand back and let your girlfriend get pummeled either" Luke-san replied before bringing us into the clinic to dress my injuries while giving some pointers to Hyosuke for when and if a similar situation came up again.

Needless to say, Mom was quite concerned when Luke-san drove us home and saw my condition. Fortunately she was very understanding when I told her everything that had occurred.

Later that evening, Hyosuke and I headed off on our mission to keep an eye on the local museum.

"Looks like she's going to be an iie show tonight" Black Forest Cake pointed out to me.

"Maybe being firmly spoken to by Luke-san was enough to scare her into behaving" I replied.

"It's ten till midnight; shall we call it a night and return home?" he then asked of me.

"Daijobu, let's go" I replied and together we flew back home.

The next day, when we returned to school, Mimi seemed distracted and left me well enough alone. However, that evening, we were to run into our new opponent at the museum.

Inside the ventilation system of the museum, we watched as this new thief quietly entered the museum from a skylight. She then dashed over towards the glass case that the Neko's Eyes Diamonds were in. Reaching to her wrist, she pressed a hidden button on her glove and five claws popped out from the fingertips. She then reached forward and made a perfect circle in the glass with her claws before extracted the piece of glass and setting it on the floor. She then retracted her claws and began to reach into the case to take the diamonds when I decided to kick the vent cover off and both Black Forest Cake and I flew out to confront her.

"If you think we're just going to let you take the Neko's Eyes Diamonds, then you're nekkyo" I told her as we both settled to the ground and drew our wakizashi-tachi in preparation for a fight.

"Looks like that obaasan decided to lend you a little extra help; too bad it's not enough to battle me" she said as she pulled out her Twin Neko wakizashi-tachi.

"How about telling us who you are?" asked Black Forest Cake.

"I am Kaitou Nekomi-mi, the neko who walks by herself" she replied with confidence.

"We're not going to go easy on you" I cautioned her.

"Good, because neither am I" she said as she charged towards me, swiping her swords at me which I just barely managed to parry but she still managed to swipe one of my wings when Black Forest Cake jumped in to try and stop her.

She was fighting both of us and barely even seemed to be trying when she finally succeeded in knocking our swords from our hands. Sheathing her swords, she leapt the distance back to the display case, and snatched away the two diamonds.

"You bird-brains are out of your league" she jeered at us before pulling out a whip and used it to snag a beam overhead and climbed up onto it. Slashing her whip again, she reached the skylight which she had dropped in from and purposely kicked out one of the windows so as to set off the alarm.

Guards soon came running up and now had their weapons drawn upon us before we could even manage to get back up to the duct work.

"She played us for a couple of fools" Black Forest Cake muttered beside me as we were sitting on the floor with our backs against the wall and sitting on our hands.

"We'll get her next time" I vowed and Black Forest Cake shot me a dirty look.

Bridgette, Berry, and Blade were called in and I knew we were in for it when they arrived. Our moms looked down upon us with firmness while Blade seemed to be looking at the floor and the display case.

"Nani are you looking for?" inquired a police officer as he noticed Blade examining the floor.

"The scuffing in the carpeting on the floor shows signs of a swordfight and unless one of these little Kaitou-tachi carries a circle-glass cutter, there's iie way they did this" Blade replied honestly.

"These were all we found on them" said another officer as he showed Blade our wakizashi-tachi as well as out utility belts.

"Stands to reason that they were trying to stop the real thief, but who are they is the question" Bridgette said as she sent us a softer look.

"She called herself Kaitou Nekomi-mi" I replied.

"So she's a Phantom Thief as well, but one who actually steals for her own selfish gain" Berry said.

"So it would seem…Pink Angel Cake, would you stand up and turn around for me, onegai" Blade then requested and when she did so, we all saw the cut on her right wing. "Healing Hand" he then said as he placed his hand upon my wing and healed the cut for me.

"Arigato, Blade-sama" I expressed to him; as Buttercup, I would have addressed him as Ojisan, but as a Kaitou, I referred to him with the honorific of -sama.

"Daijobu, you two are dismissed" spoke one of the officer-tachi and so Black Forest Cake and I left out the door to head home.

"I didn't know our wings were of flesh and blood; I thought they were just parts of our uniforms" Black Forest Cake noted to me.

I made iie comment as I was silently brooding.

"Pink Angel Cake?" he asked of me as we landed on the roof of a building.

"Nekomi-mi… You can't tell me that that's merely a coincidence! She even used the same derisive name for us!" I turned and yelled with tears in my eyes.

"Nani are you talking about?" he asked of me in confusion.

"Nekomi-mi is Mimi from school" I told him, disbelieving his level of naiveté as it was obvious.

"Look, I know there are quite a few coincidences to make it seem as though it isn't one, but it's still nothing for us to base any kind of a conclusion upon" he told me.

"How can you say that?" I asked of him in disbelief.

"It wouldn't hold up in a court of law; you should know that. Your Ojiisan is a lawyer after all" Black Forest Cake argued and I had to stop to think on it for a few minutes.

Sitting down on the roof of the building, I began pouting until I heard Mom call out, "Hey, why are you two in your rooms?"

"Kaede thinks that the real thief is really the new ijimekko who keeps tormenting her in school" Hyosuke replied on my behalf. "Problem is we don't have enough solid evidence to back our theory in court and now she's pouting."

"Daijobu, let's return home and get you two washed up" Mom then said as she helped me in standing up and we returned home together.

While taking a hot bath, Mom gave me a glass of warm milk and I was on the verge of dosing off when she returned to the furoba. Helping me out of the water and drying off, she carried me to my room and put me to bed in the buff.

I woke up late the next morning, but remained in bed as I really didn't feel like getting up until Mom came into my room. I pretended to still be asleep when she decided to place her freezing cold hands upon my bare hips.

"Ite; nani was that for?!" I asked while rubbing my hips to warm them.

"Gomen, but my hands were cold and I needed something to warm them up on. Now get out of bed before your breakfast gets cold" Mom instructed me before turning and pulling the sheets off of my bed as she was washing the linens.

I had just finished eating breakfast and was up in my room about to start getting dressed when Hyosuke came over.

"Kaede-chan, I need to talk to you; I think I may have a way for us to finally take down you-know-who" Hyosuke said as he knocked on my door.

"Well, nani are you waiting for; get in here" I told him despite being in my underclothes.

"Don't you want to get dressed first?" he asked of me with a blush in his cheeks.

"We've seen each other in the buff before so nani do I care if you see me in my underwear? Besides, I can get dressed and listen at the same time" I replied while pulling on a pair of shorts.

Hyosuke began sharing his idea with me while pulling up a couple of videos on YouTube which we watched while taking notes.

"You do realize that this means going off of my original suspicion?" I asked of him.

"Hai, but nani else do we have to go on?" he questioned in return.

"So let's put our plan into action tonight" I then told him and he agreed.

That evening, right after dinner, we headed out and soon found the address in which Mimi was said to live.

"Tell me that it's a coincidence that she lives at Neko no Shinden" I noted to Black Forest Cake as we stared at the giant statue of Maneki-Neko.

"So she's an ailurophile; nani is wrong with that?" he asked of me as we flew up to the roof of the temple and began to quietly skulk about in search of the stolen items.

Quietly creeping towards the edge of the temple, we peered over the edge to see Mimi below, dressed in a priestess' garb and pouring bowls of catnip tea which she set down on the ground as many cats came out of hiding and began to drink the tea. Once this was done, she walked into one of the smaller sheds on the temple grounds and I could see numerous feline-based items of great value and antiquity, including a large statue in the back into which she placed the Neko's Eyes Diamonds into.

"Soon, I shall have the last items to bring you to completion" I heard her tell the statue and began to wonder just nani she meant.

A large, black, long-haired cat soon jumped down to land beside her and said, "Nya!"

"Nani; our sacred grounds have been defiled?!" Mimi asked in concern as she pulled out a choker with a bell attached and chimed the bell.

She was enveloped by a flash of light which we had to look away from, but once it had dissipated, she now stood as Nekomi-mi.

Black Forest Cake and I then took to running while I secretly pulled out a newly crafted weapon: a wing-shaped boomerang with a couple of spines on its wingtips for applying beads of powder to. Sticking a couple of beads of powdered sugar to the spines, I threw the boomerang towards Nekomi-mi which created a veritable smoke-screen before dropping off the roof and running towards the shed where I took back not only the Neko's Eyes Diamonds, but the Emerald-Eyed Jade Neko statue.

I turned to make my escape but found myself surrounded by many growling cats, including the big, black one.

"You will die for this insolence and defilement of our sacred grounds" Nekomi-mi said with a growl.

"Here, kitty, kitty, kitty" Black Forest Cake called out as he pulled out a couple of cans of chicken and began to toss it around, and causing all of the cats to turn and go running for the chicken.

As Nekomi-mi was looking away to see her army of cats running for the chicken, I took the opportunity to place the items I was stealing back into a small sack on my belt before pulling out a couple of beads of honey and butter cream and threw them at her.

"Hey, nani is this; I'm stuck!" she yelled out as I slipped past her.

"Gomen nasai, but these items don't belong to you. However, since it would seem as though you own the statue that the Neko's Eyes Diamonds go to, I'll make mention of it to the museum curator; maybe he can help you to return your statue to its former glory" I told her before taking off and flying away with Black Forest Cake following.

Our first stop was the antique store where we returned the Emerald-Eyed Jade Neko while also explaining to the obaasan why the statue was stolen.

"Well, if it's for the Neko no Shinden, then I don't see why I shouldn't be able to allow the young priestess to have it. I'll donate it tonight" Obaachan told us and we bowed to her before returning to the museum.

At the local museum, we found the curator trying to explain to the people who owned the Neko's Eyes Diamonds nani had happened to them. Eyeing the man closely, I soon recognized him.

"The Neko's Eyes Diamonds really do belong to Neko no Shinden and you stole them from their temple!" I accused the man who began to sweat bullets.

"I-I don't know nani you're talking about" the man started to protest.

"These diamonds are really the eyes to the temple's noble statue of the Neko Kami" I said as I held up the two diamonds.

"You have iie proof!" the 'archeologist' yelled back.

"You're not even a real archeologist; you're a thief in disguise! I thought these diamonds seemed to fit into the eye sockets of that statue only too well" I surmised and the curator was now looking at the man with firmness.

"And that golden bell you lent to us; it really belongs to the Neko Kami as well, doesn't it? I thought it looked to strangely shaped to be an old temple bell. Officers, arrest this man!" yelled the curator as the faux archeologist started to run.

Fortunately, just before the man could reach the door, Blade walked in through the door and the man plowed right into him.

"Ite, nani did I hit?" the phony archeologist asked.

"You ran into me" Blade said in a menacing voice that made the thief change his mind about running and willfully turned himself in.

"It looks like we've got some stolen items to return to their rightful owner, as well as some apologizing to do" I told Black Forest Cake who nodded his head in agreement as he received the stolen bell into his arms.

"There's iie way I'm flying with this thing" Black Forest Cake said while struggling to keep the bell in his arms.

"Then allow me to assist" Blade said as he took the bell into one hand and carried it as though it weighed very little.

Allowing us to lead the way, we all returned to Neko no Shinden where we found Mimi, back in her priestess garb, kneeling before the Kami Neko statue and crying heavily.

"Gomen nasai, but I think these belong to Kami Neko" I apologized as I placed the large diamonds into the eye sockets of the statue while Blade hung the bell upon the statue's collar.

"A-Arigato…but how…why?" she asked of us.

"We thought you were stealing them for your own personal gain until I saw the person who was masquerading as the owner of these items and recognized him for being a notorious thief of rare, valuable items that typically belong to temples" I explained as I bowed respectfully to the Kami Neko statue.

"Arigato, perhaps you're not a couple of bird-brains after all" she replied with a light smile.

"We'll choose to take that as a compliment" Black Forest Cake replied before we turned and left out the door just as we heard a bell being rung out in front of the temple.

Looking down, we saw Obaachan place the Emerald-Eyed Jade Neko into a secret compartment inside the giant Maneki-Neko statue, bowed to the statue, and rang the bell again before turning and leaving for her car to drive away.

Monday morning, while putting my things into my locker, a voice called out, "Hey, Kaede-chan, have you got a minute?"

I turned to see Mimi standing behind me and told her, "Sure, nani can I do for you?"

"I wanted to apologize for my bad behavior earlier; I was having a bad time of it since someone broke into the temple in which I live and stole some valuable items from the temple. I hope you can forgive me" she said with a humble bow.

"Of course, after all, that's nani friends are for" I said as I held my hand out to her and she quickly embraced me in a hug. "Just do me a favor next time: if you're in a bad mood because of some injustice, talk to me about it; I can't help you if I don't know nani is wrong."

"Deal" she replied and together we walked on to our homeroom.

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><p><strong>Carly: All's well that ends well.<strong>

**TCW: Hai, quite.**

**Carly: So nani is in store for the next chapter?**

**Next time…**

**Momoko: It's time to catch up with the rest of the children.**

**TCW: This and still even more to come, but only if you review.**

**Carly and Momoko: So be sure to review, onegai, as we really want to see this story continued!**

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><p><strong>Author's Note: Nekomi-mi translates into Catgirl, and hai, I did fashion her a little after Catwoman from the Batman comics. – The Cat Whispurrer<strong>


	88. A Bloom on Mars

**Arigato for all of the fine reviews, friends. For this next chapter, we will join Kuriko and her family as they discover...**

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><p><strong>A Bloom on Mars<strong>

As usual, with Kuriko's duo, Kumiko had her eyes fixed on the stars, planets, and galaxies while her kyodai was busy building robots in his spare time. During one visit, I was met by a robotic butler, while a robot vacuum cleaner roamed around the room as a robotic helicopter with a feather duster in its one hand was dusting the main room. Kuriko warmly welcomed me while explaining the robots and when we went into the daidokoro for tea, we were met by a robot server.

"It's nice to see Kouji keeping himself busy trying to make life a little easier for you, but nani about Kumiko?" I asked of her.

"I tell you, with Kumiko, it is one thing after another. Normally, during the daytime, she's in the planetarium and in the evening she's stargazing via the telescope, but lately, it just doesn't seem like it's enough for her. I'm getting concerned that she may one day take off for the stars herself" Kuriko confessed to me.

"Well, with our powers we can go a long time on just one breath of air. Remember back when Bubbles, Buttercup, and I were banned from flying because we had accidentally split the moon?" I mentioned to her.

"Hai, but that's only the moon; I'm concerned she may go as far as Mars or even further than that!" Kuriko told me.

"You mean to see the Gas Giants with her own eyes? That would be concerning" I replied.

"To make matters worse, I think her kyodai is about ready to help her get there" Kuriko replied as we heard arguing coming from the upper floors of the lab.

"…so go play with your mechanized monstrosities elsewhere and stay out of the planetarium!" Kumiko yelled before slamming the door closed.

"You're just jealous that my robots are going to go up into space before you ever get the opportunity to!" Kouji yelled back.

Kouji soon entered the daidokoro and started to walk past me when I reached out and grabbed a hold of him in a hug as I asked, "Is Kumiko not being cooperative with you?"

"Hai, Obachan; she's not happy that my robot rover is being sent up to Mars while she's stuck here on Earth gazing through a telescope" Kouji replied.

"Well, it's considered impolite to be a braggart, Kouji-chan" Kuriko calmly rebuked him.

"Hai, mama" he replied quietly.

"Uh-oh, it looks like she's hacked into the PPAZ profiles" Kuriko suddenly told us as she began trying to lock Kumiko out. "The little minx, she's overridden the security protocols!"

"Any idea as to which files she's looking into?" I asked in concern.

"Just a second, maybe I can piggyback on her search" Kuriko replied and I just looked at her in questioning; she'd never known how to do any of this technological stuff before.

The monitor then began to show us the files Kumiko was accessing only to show her entering the profiles of the Cosmicpuffs Z and was now doing an extensive study on us. She then opened a second program and began copying certain aspects of our uniforms, namely focusing on the boots we wore.

"She's trying to create a spacesuit for herself!" Kouji told us.

~Do you wish to send to save this file~ suddenly appeared on the screen and she clicked 'yes' before opening the link to the model creator and then clicked print.

"Oh, iie, iie, iie, iie" Kuriko then said in a panic before turning and running to the lab with me and Kouji in pursuit.

"Nani is a model creator?" I asked while we were running to the lab.

"It's a special device that can literally fabricate any three dimensional model of whatever it's told to create; in this case, Kumiko's creating parts to a spacesuit" Kouji explained as we entered the lab to see the different parts of the suit Kumiko had created via her computer.

Peering inside the device, we watched as a helmet was created and soon pushed out of the device.

"The good news is that these are useless without oxygen tanks and propulsion units" Kouji told us.

"Oxygen tanks and propulsion units; so that's where they went" Kuriko noted as she opened up the inventory computer and recalled that two small rocket propulsion units had gone missing as well as an oxygen tank.

Kouji and I quickly began taking the spacesuit parts off of the conveyor belt as it had been activated and the parts were heading for a vacuum chute; clearing them off before any of them could reach their destination.

"Interesting; she failed to fabricate a tinted face shield to protect her eyes from the brightness of the stars" Kouji told us.

"As Cosmicpuffs, we just use wrap-around sunglasses to block out bright light" I told Kouji.

"Not to mention that with space travel, it's important to guard against radiation" Kuriko reminded us as we gave pause to notice that the spacesuit parts were just simple plastic.

Ken soon returned home and sent us all questioning looks until Kuriko explained everything to him. He then went up to the planetarium and pulled Kumiko out to have a sit-down father/daughter talk with her; she was definitely not happy with our interrupting her plans.

"Maybe I should have Luke talk with her" I noted to Kuriko quietly.

"It's not that she's doing this that upsets me; it's the fact that she's doing this without informing or even talking with us that does" Kuriko told me.

"But it's not fair! He doesn't even really care about the universe the way I do! All he wants is his Nobel Prizes, fame, and fortune; I want to go where iie girl has gone before!" Kumiko told her father firmly before giving way to tears.

Ken began quietly talking with her some more so that we couldn't hear nani was being said until he opened the door, "Now, I expect you to return to your room to think about this for a while, wakai josei."

Kumiko, sniffing and wiping tears from her eyes, walked off to her room while Kuriko asked, "So how did it go?"

"She makes some strong arguments that make a lot of sense, but I told her that hacking into the PPAZ profiles and creating a spacesuit without permission was nani we are angry with her about. I don't want to, but if she continues sneaking around behind our backs, she's going to earn herself a spanking" Ken confessed.

"I agree" she replied.

"Maybe Ojisan can talk with her and come up with a way to help her dream to come true without the dangers of doing so alone" offered Kouji from my lap.

"Iie, not this time; this is a lesson she's going to have to learn on her own. She either talks with us and asks for permission or suffer the consequences" Ken replied calmly, but firmly.

Later that evening, Kouji snuck into the robotics lab where he began working on a whole new project.

Kouji's POV

It wasn't easy keeping it hidden from Mom and Dad, but I finally succeeded in creating a small spacecraft for Kumiko to use while also finishing up some of her spacesuit. As for my own robotic rover, the program was canceled due to budget cuts that scrapped much of the space program, so admittedly I had an ulterior motive for doing this.

Waking Kumiko up in the middle of the night, I led her down to the lab while telling her, "Look, I know this is taking a really big risk and could very well be dangerous, but it's the only way you and I will be able to accomplish our dreams."

"Nani are you talking about?" she asked of me tiredly, still holding her plush bear that had a star on its belly.

To answer her question, I opened the door to the hangar and pointed to the small rocket ship and her spacesuit.

"I told Mom and Dad that I was creating the rocket to send my rover to Mars and I told them that I was finishing your suit so that you might be able to do a little cosplaying; I can't get my hands on any oxygen tanks of propulsion units, so I've iie idea as to nani to do about that" I told her.

"Arigato, Kouji" she replied before we returned to our rooms to get some sleep, though I could see her mind was already working on how to complete her spacesuit; I was right.

Kumiko's POV

The next day, I crept into the lab where I used some of Daddy's equipment to crystalize some Chemical Z to use as fuel for my rocket boots. I then figured out how to create an oxygen system that could take the carbon dioxide I exhaled, recycle, clean, and turn back into oxygen. All of these I hid by my suit.

Joining the rest of the family for dinner that evening, I simply asked of Kouji, "So when are you launching your rocket?"

"I've got permission to do so Friday evening, why?" he asked of me.

"I was thinking of applying a camera to the hull so as to watch the rocket's journey" I fibbed.

"Admirable, but it disrupt the rocket's streamlining and thus render it unstable" Dad replied.

"Don't worry, the actual ship that will be carrying the rover has a camera already built into it to record the journey; the rocket itself is just to get it into space" Kouji told me and I nodded my head in acceptance.

Mom remained quiet and just kept eyeing me suspiciously but I chose to ignore it.

Friday afternoon, a couple of hours before launch, I made sure to use the oteari and cleaned up really well before sneaking off into the hangar. Once inside, I stripped off all my clothes before donning my spacesuit which was well insulated against both the cold and radiation before climbing up into the rocket; Kouji had made sure to include a small cockpit that was oxygenated, though I couldn't control anything. I kept my sunglasses on as I knew that once the exterior rocket released the smaller ship, I'd be able to see outside of the vessel.

Kuriko's POV

It was ten minutes before the launch and I was looking all over the place for Kumiko when I gave pause to ask Ken and Kouji, "Have you two seen Kumiko anywhere?"

"Iie, I haven't" Ken replied.

"Knowing her, she's probably up in the planetarium" Kouji suggested.

"I already looked there" I replied.

"Have you checked the hangar; she may be cosplaying again" suggested Ken and we turned to head down into the hangar.

Ken and Kouji stepped off into the specially built control center that would allow them to watch the rocket launch, but was built to withstand the impact of the blast from the rocket's engines.

I began looking around the hangar and soon came to the locker where Kumiko usually kept her spacesuit only to find it empty and she was nowhere in sight.

"Hai, the rocket is ready to launch in T-minus 15 seconds and counting" Ken said into the telephone as he was in contact with the local airport.

My mind began racing when I recalled the missing Chemical Z and tuned to run over towards Ken and Kouji.

"IIE, STOP THE LAUNCH!" I yelled out as loudly as I could but the rocket left its pad and thundered away, drowning out my voice.

Dropping to my knees, I just released a tirade of tears while sobbing only to receive questioning looks from my menfolk. Once I had been able to pull myself together enough, I told them of my fears.

"I never thought she'd actually use it that way" Kouji said aloud in astonishment.

"Nani are you talking about, Kouji?" Ken asked of him.

"Well, when I finished the suit up for her, I did so as close to an actual spacesuit as possible, but I never did any oxygen tanks or propulsion units for her boots" Kouji confessed.

"You're telling me that she has an actual spacesuit and not just a cosplay uniform?" Ken asked of him.

"Minus oxygen tanks and propulsion units" Kouji repeated in his own defense.

Turning and running over to a computer, Ken pulled up a couple of unusual files before announcing, "That little minx! She's completed her spacesuit!"

"But how is that even possible?" Kouji asked in confusion.

"Look at this; she's crystallized some Chemical Z for fuel for her rocket boots and she's even fabricated an oxygen tank that can recycle carbon dioxide by turning it back into oxygen" Ken told us.

"Is there any way for us to contact her?" I asked in desperation.

"She has a communication radio in her helmet, but I don't know how effective it'll be at this distance" Kouji replied.

"Did you know she was going to do this, Kouji?" Ken then asked.

"I had a suspicion, but I wasn't sure. I mean, I had iie way to supply oxygen or fuel for her boots" Kouji replied.

"Nani is done is done; now we have to find a way to bring her back safely" Ken said with a sigh.

"How; there are iie controls on the main vessel and it was only given enough fuel to get it to Mars" I asked just shy of shouting.

"She could always use her rocket boots" Kouji suggested quietly.

"Would the Chemical Z last long enough?" I then asked of Ken.

"I can't honestly formulate an answer as I have too little information to base a hypothesis on" Ken replied.

"Explain" I demanded.

"Hypothesizing with a basis of the crystals that are on the bottoms of our shoes as Powerpuffs Z, I would hazard to guess that they should. However, given the fact that we're dealing with the fact that they're going to be powering rockets, we don't know how long of a burn can be made before the energy expenditure would take its toll on similar crystals to make a definitive answer" Kouji answered for his father.

"I'm going to call an emergency meeting of the Powerpuff Alliance Z" Ken then said as he pulled out his buckle/phone and pressed the emergency button.

Within an hour, all members had gathered, even the newest members of the Mer-puffs Z.

"Gomen nasai for having to cut formality and make introductions to the newest members to the team, but we've an urgent matter to deal with right now" Ken said, starting the meeting.

"Nani is the emergency, Ken?" Luke asked.

"It seems that Kumiko has not only fabricated her own spacesuit, but she has also stowed away on board the rocket that is carrying a robotic rover to Mars" Ken explained while showing them the schematics to the suit she'd created, including the oxygen tanks and crystalized Chemical Z.

"Ingenious" noted Miko quietly as she looked over the schematics.

"Is there a way to bring the vessel back?" Ami inquired.

"Negative, there are iie controls on board and the fuel supply will only last the duration of the one-way trip" Ken replied while sending a concerned look towards me.

"How long would it take to build another ship that would not only be able to reach Mars, but also return?" Momoko asked.

"Three weeks at best" Kouji replied.

The room erupted with quiet murmurs of concern for Kumiko's well-being.

"Based on the designs of her spacesuit and oxygen system, she'll have more than enough oxygen to last her for a good long time" Miko offered helpfully.

"Hai, but she's going to get hungry and thirsty; without food or drink, she'll only last a few days at best" Pazu replied.

Kouji ran out of the room but soon returned to say, "She's got food and water for the journey there; the granola bars and six bottles of water are missing from the cabinet."

"She's thought of virtually everything" Kaarii said impressively.

"Hai, except that whatever the body takes in, it will eventually need to get rid of" Rikiya said.

"And there iie rest stops on the way, either" Isamu noted.

"Is there any way to contact her?" Kanta asked.

"She has a radio in her helmet, but we're not sure how effective it'll be at this distance" I answered.

"We should at least try, anyway" Kouji suggested as he went to the radio station and began trying to signal Kumiko.

Kumiko's POV

'Too bad the moon is on the other side of the planet right now' I said to myself as I peered out the window through my sunglasses.

"Kumiko, can you hear me; come in, Kumiko" I heard Kouji's voice say through the headset.

"If you're trying to get me to change my mind about this, you are entirely too late" I replied into the mic.

"You have iie idea; there are iie controls on that vessel and you've only enough fuel to get you to Mars. Mom's worried to a frazzle; Dad's got the whole PPAZ assembled; and just about all of us are concerned about you" Kouji told me.

"If that's supposed to make me want to abandon ship and return to Earth, it's not going to work. I'm going to go see and walk on Mars and there's not thing one you can say or do to stop me" I told him firmly.

"Have you considered how you're going to return home? The rocket's only enough fuel to get to Mars and even then it hasn't any controls; it's all computerized" he informed me.

"I know, and I've already hacked the program and rewrote it; we'll still arrive on time, but I'm having it so that the rocket only expends half of its fuel. It will enter Mars' orbit and remain there while I fly the rover down to the planet's surface" I explained to him.

"You should be able to survive that if you ride the rover and even the rover itself can sustain those temperatures. But, it's the re-entry into Earth's atmosphere that I'm worried about; neither the rocket nor your suit have an appropriate heat-shield" Kouji said concernedly.

"I've already thought that part over which is why, for the record, refer to me as Bloom" I told him with a giggle.

"I hope it's enough" he said with a sigh.

"Un, well I going to get some sleep; Bloom signing off" I replied before ending the communication and settling down to get some much needed rest.

Kouji's POV

"She signed off to get some sleep" I told the others rather unnecessarily; I'd had our whole conversation on 'speaker' so that they could hear.

"Is there any way to override the ship's computer from here?" Obasan asked.

"Iie, the computer's whole guidance system can only be accessed via the onboard computer" Dad replied.

"Can we still communicate with her? Once she awakens from her nap, I mean" Hotaka inquired.

"I highly doubt it; there would entirely too much interference and I don't think radio waves can travel those distances without considerable dissipation" Dad replied.

"Too bad Orion was destroyed; we could have used it to fly out to her" Suzuko noted, speaking up for the first time.

"All of Ultima Z was destroyed in that battle" Kaarii reminded us.

"Would it take long to build another one?" Kaede asked.

"She'll be back before we could even finish the basic structure. Best I can figure, after Bloom rides the rover to the surface, she'll have just enough time to setup the unit, maybe take a few snapshots as mementos of her visit, before returning to the rocket to ride it back to home" I explained to them.

"Wait a second…the FAA doesn't know about a returning rocket; we're going to have to tell them" Mom suddenly noted.

"We're talking about something the size of a meteorite, so I highly doubt it's going to be something to worry about" Dad replied with a sigh.

"Can you track the ship?" Luke suddenly asked.

"Hai, we can" Dad answered.

"Daijobu, since there's nothing we can really do right now, contact us as soon as she's into her return and approaching Earth" he replied.

"Nani are you going to do?" Mom asked of him.

"As the Cosmicpuffs Z, our uniforms are built to withstand the pressures and temperatures of atmospheric re-entry" Obasan answered.

"Not only that, but we can also help to direct the rocket towards Nihon" Takaaki added.

"Well, close enough to Nihon, but still dropping her into the Pacific Ocean" Miyako noted.

"You'll need us within the vicinity of the splashdown in the event she loses consciousness and can't resurface on her own" Kaoru informed us.

"That will leave the rest of us to check her over for medicinal needs and sustenance" Ami concluded.

"We're in agreement then?" Isamu asked of us.

"Agreed" all replied before the gathering broke and everyone returned home.

Bloom's POV

When I awoke from my slumber, I looked up to notice the Red Planet coming into view and stared at it in amazement and anticipation as I could feel a smile cross my face.

The rocket entered the planet's orbit and I closed my face mask and activated my oxygen tanks prior to turning off the oxygen in the cabin before depressurizing it. Sliding down into the cargo hold, I wrapped my arms and legs around the Martian rover before opening the doors and releasing the rover from its moorings. Using my rocket boots, I launched us up and towards Mars, riding it like a giant surfboard until we began to get close to the planet's atmosphere when I climbed up onto the robot's back to ride the rover like a skateboard.

'If only Kouji could see me now' I thought gleefully while riding the robot through the atmosphere and soon gently touched down on the surface of Mars. "That's one small step for a girl; one giant leap for mankind. I always wanted to say that."

Turning to the robot and checking the extent of its damage, I then began setting it up before using its cameras and my radio to transmit back to Earth.

"Hey, is anybody there?" I called out via my radio and using the rover's camera.

"Bloom, thank the Great Kami; are you daijobu?" I heard Kouji reply.

"Hai, I'm idaina! I just wanted to report in to let everyone know. Though, for a desolate planet, there sure are a lot of rovers here" I noted to him while looking at a few of them that were laying on their sides and looking like they were on the verge of becoming rusted derelicts.

"Go ahead and destroy those useless ones" Kouji told me.

"Nani; but why would I want to do something like that?" I asked of him in confusion.

"They're useless" he told me.

"A couple of them are still trying to transmit data, I could easily right them and allow them to get back to work" I replied.

"I told you, they're useless" he replied and I could finally hear the urgency in his voice.

"I get it. You want me to destroy them so that your robot will get the data instead so that you can win your Nobel and Pulitzer Prizes so as to gain fame and fortune. Don't worry, you'll still get all of that, though if you ask me, it'd be a lot better to put all that effort into finding cures for diseases like diabetes and cancer" I fussed back at him as I approached a robot and flipped it back up onto its wheels.

"Bloom, I hate to tell you this, but pharmaceutical corporations don't want to find the cures to those diseases. If they do, they won't be able to get rich off of selling the multiple other medications that are used to alleviate some of the pain caused by those ailments. And even if they did find a cure, they would make it so astronomically expensive only the super wealthy could afford it" Kouji told me.

"Nani; that's ridiculous" I replied back as I righted another robot.

"Hai, but true; as far as we know, they already have the cure but are keeping it hidden in the drawer of some executive's desk so that they can continue requesting money from the government and kind-hearted people who wish to donate money to those causes when instead, it's just lining said executive's pocket" Kouji added.

"I bet Ami and Pazu would be more willing to find those cures for the sake of eradicating those diseases" I noted to him.

"That's a wager that you'd more than likely win, but then, they're the exception to the rule. As it stands, nani I'd really like to see is for them to find a way to restore or replace damaged optic nerves" Kouji replied.

"You're talking about that new girl in class, aren't you? I thought you had a thing for Hikari" I noted to him.

"Un, well, since she's gone off to school in another part of the country and given the way she keeps talking about a certain teammate of hers, I'm beginning to think we're growing further and further apart" Kouji confessed.

"Have you tried talking to her about it and telling her how its making you feel?" I asked of him, knowing that he wouldn't.

"Iie, I haven't" he replied simply.

"Well, she can't know if you don't tell her. The rocket's getting ready to swing around the planet, so I better get going to meet up with it" I then replied and ended my transmission to fly up towards the rendezvous point.

Dusting the sand from my boots while airborne, I then flew off to meet up with the rocket. I then boarded the ship via the cargo hold, closed the doors, and returned to the rocket's cockpit where I pressurized the cabin before activating the oxygen. I then turned my air tank off and was soon blasting out of orbit and back towards Earth.

At the halfway point, I jettisoned the cargo hold so that the ship was virtually two thrusters and a cockpit, lightening the vessel so as to fly a little quicker and thus make the fuel in the engines last a little longer.

"Now comes the tricky part" I noted aloud as the ship entered the Earth's atmosphere just as the engines had depleted their fuel. "Idaina, and here I am on the other side of the planet."

Looking up, I soon noticed six individuals flying towards me and soon recognized them despite their helmets; the Cosmicpuffs Z.

The cabin's oxygen system began flashing a red light at me and so I closed my mask again and activated my own air tanks.

"Welcome home, Bloom-chan" I heard Baron say over my radio.

"Hold on, we're going to get you over to the other side of the planet so that you can enter closer to home" Bubbles said as the six of them grabbed hold of my ship and began to guide me to the right side of the Earth.

As we were getting closer, I signaled to them, "I'm depressurizing the cockpit and climbing out."

"Understood" Blossom replied.

"Good luck" Bright said.

Blade soon flew up underneath me as I began to re-enter the Earth's atmosphere to try to help buffer off some of the heat, though I could still feel my spacesuit melting off of me. When the heat had ceased, my suit was gone and I was still freefalling towards Tokyo Harbor but soon lost consciousness.

When I awoke, I was lying in a bed in a hospital room and covered with two thick blankets while soft, soothing violin music played at the other end of the room.

"Hey, you're awake!" noted a familiar voice and I looked over to notice Hotaka sitting in a chair with his violin in hand.

"How long have I been out?" I asked, noticing the I.V. in my arm and the monitors hooked up to me.

"You've been asleep for about twenty four hours" Hotaka replied. "Ami and Pazu have been running many tests on you, including checking you for dangerous levels of radiation; you're clean."

"The last thing I remember was Blade acting as a heat-shield to allow me a slightly safer re-entry" I told him.

"You must have lost consciousness shortly after that. The Powerpuff Mermaids Z used their powers over water to catch you while Blade also slowed your progress by catching you in his arms. They then carried you to shore where the Powerpuffs Z stood waiting for you. Once you're off the I.V., you've got a welcome home party to attend" Hotaka informed me.

"I thought I heard voices in here" Ami said from the doorway and soon approached to check my vitals one more time prior to removing the I.V. from my arm. "I'll be right back; I want to see if you can drink anything without pain or it trying to return on you."

Once she had left, I sat up when Hotaka's face when completely red and looked down to the floor. That was when I remembered that, in order to put on my spacesuit, I had to remove everything and glanced down to notice I was still quite undressed.

"Aw craters!" I fussed as I grabbed one of the blankets and used it to cover myself.

When Ami returned to the room she noticed the redness in our faces when she inquired, "Did something happen here?"

"I failed to realize that I'm still naked and sat up" I answered.

"Ah, enough said then. Here, drink this" she replied as she handed me a cup of water which I drank down while still holding the blanket up over my chest. She stuck around for about another hour and, when nothing happened, she left to inform Pazu.

Mom, Dad, and Pazu soon arrived and Hotaka left the room as I was permitted to get mostly dressed; I was still barefoot and wore slippers on my feet and wore my underclothes, but my only covering was a nightgown.

I was allowed to join my friends and their families for my 'Welcome Home' party which included a small rocket shaped cake. Everyone asked me all sorts of questions and I properly answered all of them, "…but next time, I'm going to have to make sure I have an appropriate landing vessel so I can bring back photos and samples personally."

"Next time…gomen nasai, but you're coming with me wakai josei" Mom said as she had been sitting off in a corner, crying, before approaching and taking hold of me by the wrist and leading me out of the room.

Hotaka's POV

I must admit that while I hated hearing my girl screaming and crying out like that, she did deserve the spanking she was getting from her mother. In fact, part of me wanted to take a turn at delivering said punishment as I had also been quite worried, so much that I missed one of my competitions.

"Didn't you miss one of your music competitions due to worrying about her?" Ken asked of me.

"Hai, but it was for the amateur division and I'm in the intermediate division" I replied honestly.

"If you ever pull another stunt like that again, you'll not only never see space again, but you won't even be allowed to look through a telescope; do I make myself clear?" we all heard Kuriko shout.

"Hai *sob* Mama" Kumiko replied and they soon exited out of the side room to rejoin the group.

It was understandable that Kumiko didn't feel much like sitting at the moment.

Once the party had wound down and most had turned in for the night, I met up with Kumiko up on in the planetarium where I told her about my missing the competition.

"Sumimasen, Hotaka-kun; I didn't mean to make you worry so much" she apologized.

"Don't worry about it. Just do me a favor and, if there ever is a next time, take one of my albums up with you" I told her and she agreed as she leaned her head down upon my shoulder and I wrapped my arm around both of hers.

Momoko's POV

Of course, our next challenge wouldn't come from far away, but was a lot closer to home than we had anticipated and was of a topic which we weren't exactly sure how to deal with...

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><p><strong>Carly: You're ending on a note like that?!<strong>

**TCW: Hai, it adds to the suspense.**

**Carly: Daijobu, so nani is in store for the next chapter?**

**Next time...**

**Luke: Of all topics why did it have to be this one?**

**Momoko: We'll figure out some way to tell her, I'm sure.**

**TCW: Nani are they talking about? Stay tuned to the next chapter to find out.**

**Carly and Momoko: Just be sure to leave us with some nice reviews while you wait!**


	89. The Assignment

**Arigato for the reviews, everyone. For this next chapter, Luke and Momoko's girls learn the disturbing truth to their pasts when Anzu is given…**

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><p><strong>The Assignment<strong>

"Daijobu, class, settle down. For this week's assignment, I want you to write a paper telling us about your either your ojiisan or obaasan. The only rule is: iie repeat papers" Sensei announced before dismissing us to discuss who would write about which of our sofubo.

"I'm doing my paper about Ojiisan" Akahana announced.

"I'm doing mine about Obaachan" Suzuko said with a smile.

"But then who am I going to write about?" I asked of them only for them to shrug their shoulders in reply.

I then turned and went to speak with Sensei on the issue only for her to reply, "Hmm, that is a tough one."

"Could I write about one of my Obachan-tachi or Ojisan-tachi instead?" I asked before noticing my itoko-tachi approaching with the same questions.

"I suppose, but doesn't your father have a father or mother for you to tell about, Anzu-chan?" Sensei replied.

"I…don't know. He never made any mention of having one" I replied in thought.

"Well, I'd like to see at least one of you write about one of them, even if they aren't around anymore" Sensei told us and I decided to take it upon myself to do the paper as my itoko-tachi were wanting to write about their obachan-tachi and ojisan-tachi.

When we returned home that evening, while Akahana and Suzuko went to start on their papers, I entered Daddy's study to see if I could find some information on his Daddy.

"Anzu-chan, nani are you doing in here instead of working on your homework?" Mama asked of me.

"That's just it; I am trying to work on my homework. Sensei gave us an assignment to write about one of our sofubo and since Akahana and Suzuko already chose to write about Ojiisan and Obaachan, and I can't write a repeat paper, I thought to look to see if I could find some kind of information about Daddy's dad" I replied while resisting the urge to pull out the Bushido book instead.

That was when I turned to notice the strange look on Mama's face before she knelt down to tell me, "I'll let your father know when he gets home. Meanwhile, I want you to go take your bath."

"Hai, Mama" I replied before leaving the room to head for the furoba.

Momoko's POV

I watched Anzu walk away towards the furoba with a couple of tears in my eyes as I recalled that horrible memory once again. Brushing the tears away, I forced myself to think of the blessing that accursed moment brought to me and Luke but still, to recall that day, still hurts.

Just as I heard the water in the furoba turn on, Luke came home, calling out, "Tadaima!"

Poking my head out of his study, I silently signaled for him to join me in his study as he inquired, "Is something wrong?"

I quietly closed the door before turning and hugging him to say, "You're going to want to sit down for this one."

"Daijobu, something's wrong, now nani is it?" he asked as he sat down.

"The girls have been given an assignment for school to write about one of their sofubo, but there's one small catch, there can be iie repeat papers. Akahana and Suzuko have chosen to write about my parents, which left Anzu to write about…" I started to explain but let my thought drift off.

"…She's looking to write about my father, isn't she?" he finished for me and I silently nodded my head in confirmation.

He remained understandably silent for a few minutes before I told him, "I sent Anzu to take her bath so that you might be able to prepare yourself for this…if there's a way for you to prepare for it."

"I don't know if I can; Ami and Isamu knew him better than I did" Luke replied.

"I know, but I think she'd rather hear a good portion of her information from you first. And even then, nani…nani if '_that_' subject comes up; nani do we tell her?" I asked in deep concern.

In reply, Luke pulled out his cellphone and called up his shimai-tachi to request a family meeting after dinner. The girls arrived around six in the evening and before either of them could ask any questions, Luke and I led them to his study where we closed the door to talk quietly.

"Are we required to tell her about…you-know-nani?" Ami inquired in concern.

"Iie, not unless the subject comes up, but I don't foresee any reason why it should. We tell her nani we know about the Professor and volunteer iie information otherwise" Isamu said firmly.

"Isamu, think about this for a moment. Whatever we tell her is going to lead up to a discussion as to why he's iie longer around and that will in turn leave us with little other option as to explain" I told her.

"Nani if we only give her half the answer? We tell her why he's iie longer around, why and nani happened, but we refrain from mentioning…the next part" Ami offered.

"Perhaps nani we should do next is to determine nani we're going to tell her and nani we're going to refrain from mentioning" I offered.

"Either that or write the paper for her" Isamu retorted.

"We most certainly can't do that" Luke replied and we all went into thought on nani we were going to do.

"Daijobu, best I can figure for us to do is to talk with her on the basic issue without volunteering any 'personal' information. I think the best way to do this is for you to show her a picture of the Professor with us in it while refraining from showing her the photo of their past selves with him. Maybe one of us could even be there to help verify some parts while filling in for others" Isamu said.

"I think both of us should be there to help" Ami suggested.

"If I may; I think it would be best to refrain from telling her the cause of his death or mentioning your 'other shimai-tachi' for that matter" I noted to them and they readily agreed.

"I think we should do this here in your study, Oniichan. Anzu's much more comfortable in here and we don't want her to feel intimidated when we share nani there is for us to share" Isamu suggested and so it was decided that they would meet with Anzu tomorrow afternoon.

The following afternoon, Luke's shimai-tachi arrived and they all met up together in his study. I prepared glasses and a pitcher of iced tea for the lot of them as well as a few cookies, all of which I set upon a serving cart and setup in front of the window of Luke's study before calling Anzu down to speak with them.

"Am I in trouble?" Anzu asked quietly as she saw the three of them and I closed the door behind us.

"Iie, you're not in trouble" Ami told her reassuringly with a light giggle.

"I asked your obasan-tachi to come over to help me tell you about our father" Luke told her as he patted his lap for her to sit on.

"Oh, I left my notebook and pencil in my room" Anzu noted as she started to turn to run back to her room.

"I already set out some paper on a clipboard along with a pencil on Daddy's desk" I told her and she turned to see Luke pick up and pass her the clipboard.

Returning to sit in her father's lap, she made ready to start taking notes before looking up into his face expectantly.

"I guess the best way to describe our father is to say that he was a lot like your idaina ojisan; a man of science and with a strong desire to help the world to become a better place" Luke began as he pulled out a picture of his father along with his shimai-tachi back when they were little girls.

"Why aren't you in this photo; and why is Mama in it?" she asked.

"That's not me, koibito; that's your late obasan, Blossom" I answered though I knew this was going to lead to another set of questions.

"But I thought…" Anzu started to ask but Ami interrupted her.

"We used to have a shimai named Blossom but she passed away" Ami replied simply.

"As for why your Daddy isn't in the photo is because he was…the photographer" Isamu replied quickly.

I thought I saw a flash of distrust show in Anzu's eyes but she simply replied, "Oh, daijobu then."

"Anyways, as you can see, your Mama looks a lot like Blossom, but there are quite a few distinct differences if you look more closely, but that's not all that important to the issue right now" Luke told her.

"Where's your Mama?" Anzu then asked.

"We didn't…know her; she died in childbirth" Isamu started to say but went with a lie instead.

"Oh, gomen nasai to hear that" Anzu replied apologetically.

"We never knew her, so we didn't get much opportunity to miss her" Ami replied while shooting a side-glance of annoyance to her shimai; she didn't like lying.

"Nani was ojiisan like, personality-wise?" Anzu asked after setting the photograph down upon her father's desk.

"For the most part, he was nice, mild-mannered, and slow to lose his temper, but even when he did, he kept it under control around us. He did have his one or two moments of discomfort on some topics that we tried to discuss with him, but would still explain it to us" Ami told her.

"Right, you just couldn't understand him during those moments as he'd speak quite rapidly and use big words that the average person couldn't understand" Isamu added.

"You mean like that time he tried to explain 'bed-wetting' to you?" Ami asked of her teasingly.

"Hey, at least that was relatively easy, when he tried to explain 'periods' to us was even worse; thankfully Blossom understood everything he said and so simplified his explanation to us when in the shower later that same night" Isamu returned and Anzu was now giggling at them.

"That's why I relied upon my computer to learn the answers to any and all questions I had" Luke added with a chuckle of his own.

"So basically he was a fun person who was easily embarrassed by questions of personal matters" Anzu then summarized simply.

"Exactly" Ami confirmed.

"He even looks like idaina ojisan, Kitazawa" Anzu said with a sigh as she remembered her late idaina ojisan.

"Hai, well our dad was a bit more scatterbrained and easily distracted. Also many of his intended inventions were total failures while his more accidental ones were usually the successful ones" Isamu added.

"Such as…" Anzu inquired of them.

"Um, well there was the time he invented a shrinking machine so that we could fight an army of nano-bots but forgot to add on a reverse switch so as to return us to normal size until weeks later" Isamu noted.

"And then there was that creature he created to be a pet that was only to be fed but once in its entire lifetime, but when we forgot to keep tabs on nani the other had been doing while playing with it, it became the furry monster that ate Townsville. Fortunately, the thing could only hold a certain quantity and when it exceeded that volume, the beast exploded into many copies of its original self; that was quite a mess that we would up cleaning up" Ami added, though Luke just looked at them blankly as he hadn't been around at that time.

"Un, who knew that they melted when they came into contact with sea water?" Isamu retorted but went iie further into detail on the issue.

"And let's not forget when he turned the family car into a robotic sports car that tried to destroy us" Ami further mentioned.

"And that stupid D.Y.N.A.M.O. that we were forced into using to fight with a mutant puffer fish and merely wound up destroying Townsville instead of destroying the monster" Isamu continued.

"So nani did he create that would up being beneficial?" Anzu asked in disbelief of their father's ineptitude.

Her obachan-tachi turned to look at each other in uncertainty as to how to answer that question until Luke answered for them, "He created the original formula for a substance that was known as Chemical-X which in turn was turned into Chemical-Z by your late idaina ojisan."

"Oh, and of course we all know the benefit of that stuff" Anzu replied while writing down a few more notes. "Nani did he die of?"

"Heart attack" Ami replied while Isamu simultaneously said, "Lung cancer."

"*Ahem* Simply put, he died of natural causes" Luke replied and Anzu looked up into his face before nodding her head; I found myself wondering if she even believed him.

"Did he smoke or something?" she asked of him after a few moments of silence.

"Hai, he tended to smoke a pipe. So much so that it amazes me that we never developed second- or third-hand smoke related health issues" Isamu replied disgruntledly.

"We were always trying to convince him to give up smoking but he rarely ever listened to us and just gave placating replies" Ami added with a sigh.

"Hai, but like so many other smokers, our concerns and advice went in one ear and right out the other" Luke added.

"This isn't too much to go on, but at least it's something to do my report on" Anzu said with a sigh as she finished writing her notes.

"I wish there was more to tell you about him, but we pretty much narrowed it all down" Ami told her.

"That's daijobu, Obachan, this will be enough" Anzu replied as she gave both of the girls a hug before dashing off for her room.

Once she was out of the room, I told them, "A few tense moments, but I think that was about as successful as we could get."

"I saw the questions flash in her eyes during those moments; she knows we weren't being entirely truthful" Isamu replied.

"We may very well have to tell her the whole truth eventually" Luke said with another sigh.

"Perhaps, but perhaps not; maybe she just figured that we were sugar-coating the truth for her protection" offered Ami helpfully.

She was right, but it was the way in which the truth was learned that would make it hurt even worse.

Anzu's POV

I was heading for my room to start my report when I heard Akahana beckon me, "Anzu, could you come here for a moment?"

I turned and saw both her and Suzuko standing in the entryway to her room with tears and shock in their eyes.

"Nani is wrong with you two?" I asked of them in confusion.

"Daddy wasn't being entirely honest with you" Suzuko said as I was led to Akahana's laptop.

Pointing to the screen, I sat down and read the report that was given in an article from the Townsville Gazette:

_Yesterday, the lives of one Professor Utonium and his three weapons of mass destruction that were masquerading under the guise of being the New Powerpuff Girls were cut short. By Judicial decision, local police administered lethal injections and, in accord with the wishes of their remaining family member, one Luke 'Blade' Utonium, were buried in Townsville Cemetery._

_Bloom stood accused of first degree murder when she shot the mayor; his aide having found the young girl with the smoking gun still in hand while standing atop the mayor's desk. Bonbon was accused of destroying the naval, air, and military bases later that same day. Bell stood accused of destroying the Japanese district of Townsville, lovingly dubbed Little Tokyo._

_Professor Utonium, the creator these Powerpuff Girls, was incarcerated along with two of the three child-weapons the following day while Bell took off in fright. Despite best attempts of the police and her 'father' Bell refused to cooperate until her 'brother' returned from Japan to bring her in personally._

_Luke and his fiancé argued that, after listening to the girls' explanations of what they had done, the girls were innocent of their crimes because they had been mysteriously manipulated into doing them. Neither the police nor the mayor's aide were convinced and the four accused received lethal injections to end their possible tyrannical rule._

"S-so Daddy, Ami, and Isamu sugar-coated the truth, big deal" I said firmly to the two of them.

"Scroll down to their obituaries; they include photos" Suzuko whispered.

Scrolling down, I saw the photos of them and had to give pause as I stared at them.

"D-D-D-DADDY!" I screamed out.

Luke's POV

Momoko and I stood in the doorway waving sayonara to my shimai-tachi when we heard Anzu's terrified scream, "DADDY!"

Quickly turning to the stairs, we both took off running for the Anzu's room when we found the three of them in Akahana's room and looking like they'd just seen a ghost…or worse.

"Nani is it; nani is wrong?" I asked as I knelt down beside Anzu while Momoko was trying to comfort the other two.

"Tell me that this is someone's idea of a really sick joke" she pleaded of me tearfully.

I turned to the screen and saw the photos posted before scrolling up to read the article before replying, "Figures that they would refrain from mentioning the rest of the story."

"Nani do you mean; nani rest of the story is there?" Suzuko asked.

"Shortly after being buried, a demon known as Him appeared and openly confessed in front of the whole town that he had been the one who manipulated the Powerpuff Girls into committing all of those crimes. In so doing, he not only angered me and your mother, but he also angered the Higher Realm. The Heavens opened and your late obasan, Blossom, descended to grant me the power to destroy Him, but not before taking the lingering spirits of the deceased and, after splitting each into two parts, sent them into me and your mother so that they would have a second chance. My imouto-tachi were changed and made to become mine and your mother's musume-tachi" Luke explained to them as he took all three of them in his arms.

"You mean, those really are…were us?" Akahana asked of him.

"Hai, though I had hoped and prayed that your past lives would remain in the past as it's your present and future selves that matter the most to your mother and I" I replied as Momoko knelt down behind them to share in hugging the three of them.

"And that's why you refrained from telling me the real reason behind Ojiisan's death" Anzu said softly.

"Well, that and the fact that he already did indeed have lung cancer from smoking, so something was going to wind up killing him anyways; I just figured that the latter would have been easier to take and would also serve as an example to many others who smoke" I told her lightly.

Anzu then left from our arms for a moment to send Akahana's computer back to its home screen before clearing her history. Anzu then rejoined us in sharing a family hug.

Once the girls were feeling better, we released them get back to their homework. Anzu wrote her report on her ojiisan, but she wrote it the way we had originally told her and ended it on the comment, "Smoking causes cancer and cancer kills. So when your peers try to tell you that smoking makes you cool, tell them 'Iie arigato, there's NOTHING cool about cancer' and walk away."

Her report won her not only earned her high marks, but her end comment won its place in both the school newspaper and the local paper.

Momoko's POV

Later that evening, as I was checking in on the girls to tuck them in for the night, I gave pause at Suzuko's door to notice her standing at her desk, one of her dolls lying face down on the top, and she was talking to it.

"You really seem to have quite a few knots in your shoulder muscles" I heard her say when I realized nani was going on.

Quietly signaling to Luke, he joined me in watching and listening as Suzuko was giving her doll a massage. We smiled to one another before Luke entered her room and quietly walked up behind her.

"Often times when dealing with hard knots in a patient, one can either use the heel of their hand of press and hold upon the spot with the side of a fist" Luke told her in a whispered voice and Suzuko started to do just as he had suggested before sending him a big smile.

"Perhaps in the morning you could give Suzuko her own massage" I offered from the door.

"I've never had a massage before. Do they hurt?" Suzuko asked.

"Not if done correctly, but they can be very enjoyable" I replied as we led her to her bed and began to tuck her in for the night.

"And since we'll be doing it here, you can also enjoy a hot, herbal bath either before or after the massage" Luke told her prior to giving her a kiss on the forehead.

I kissed her on the cheek and headed for her door when I gave pause to turn back to look at her as she yawned and rolled over onto her side to fall asleep.

The next morning, right after breakfast and letting the girls get their chores done, I led Suzuko out to our private onsen where Luke was preparing some massage oils.

"Sugoi, you practically have to be a chemist to give massages" Suzuko said in amazement as she watched her father mixing some oils together.

"It's really easier than it looks. The hard part is working with patients with allergies to certain contents, like nut oils or certain fragrances. Outside of that, you merely have to find a fragrance that pleases the patient. Some can be relaxing, others invigorating, while still others can be rather sensuous, though I think we'll refrain from that kind of fragrance for your massage" Luke told her while I set up the massage couch with fresh, warm linens.

"Not that I'm objecting, but why's it so warm in here?" Suzuko then asked.

"You want your massage room to be warm so that the patient can feel warm and comfortable while naked" I replied to her with a smile.

"Oh, that makes sense then. Wait, did you say that the patient has to be…naked?" Suzuko asked as her cheeks turned bright red.

"Well, most of the time they have the option to remain in their undergarments, but most will insist on being completely unclothed. But don't worry, unless otherwise directed, you'll be keeping certain parts of their anatomies covered with a towel for modesty purposes" Luke told her as I locked the door to start undressing her.

"So nani are my options here?" she asked concernedly.

"I'm going to start up the onsen" I informed them as I stepped into the adjacent furoba and removed the cover on our in-ground hot tub that served as our personal hot spring.

"You may as well start undressing" Luke told her as he began mixing the oils to form a combination that he knew Suzuko would enjoy.

"Do I have to?" she asked of him in concern.

"Oh, come on; you've nothing that he hasn't already seen" I told her as I returned to the massage room and began undressing her myself.

I then brought her into the furoba where I began washing her thoroughly before drying her off and returning with her to the massage couch where Luke was already standing with his eyes closed and in a state of meditation. Setting down a step-stool to allow Suzuko to climb up onto the couch, I silently instructed her to lay face down.

"Is the patient ready?" Luke asked of me.

"Still a little apprehensive, but she's ready" I replied quietly.

Dipping his hand into the first bowl of oil, he warmed the oil in his hand before dribbling it onto Suzuko's back prior to placing his hands upon her back and let their energies mingle and match. Once done, he began to massage her back and shoulders, working his way from her right shoulder down her right arm before returning to repeat the process from her left shoulder out to her left arm and back again.

Dipping one hand into another bowl of oil which I had warmed up for him, he then went down her lower back, went down from her right hip to her right leg, and down to her foot before returning back up and repeating the process down her left side.

"If you'd roll over onto your back" he then told Suzuko and I helped her to make sure she didn't slip off the couch.

Taking up a couple of towels, I covered her chest and lower parts. Stepping back, I allowed Luke to repeat the process of syncing Suzuko's energies with his own before starting on her shoulders and upper chest, out her arms again, before carefully moving first one hand to her abdominal region and then the other so as to keep a constant connection with her before working his way down each of her legs.

Suzuko was on the verge of falling asleep when he had finished and was now drying his hands on another towel while smiling down at her.

"How are you feeling?" he asked of her.

"Do I have to take a bath; this oil feels and smells wonderful" she asked as she sat up with a yawn.

"Iie, you don't have to, but you'll want to let it dry into your skin for a few minutes" I told her.

"Meanwhile, it's Anzu's turn" Luke said as he left the onsen to retrieve Anzu as she was just getting home from kendo practice and really looking forward to her massage while I looked her over for any injuries.

"A minor contusion on her upper right arm" I reported to Luke who took a look at it.

"I think I can work around it without worsening the injury" he replied before I sent Anzu to get washed up and to soak in the onsen prior to her massage.

Looking up to notice that Suzuko was dressed again, I told her, "Would you send Akahana in her when you return inside?"

"Hai, Mama" Suzuko replied before leaving out the door and was soon returning with Akahana who was protesting. "Would you relax? A massage will do you a world of good after working in your gardens."

Since Luke was busy mixing oils for them, I was left to drag Akahana into the furoba where I began undressing her.

As the two of them finished soaking at the same time, I had Akahana sit in a chair while waiting her turn and quietly watching as Anzu received her own massage.

"Is she daijobu?" Akahana asked when Luke had finished as Anzu wasn't moving.

"She's sound asleep" Luke told us. "We'll wait until the oil on her skin dries and then move her to the futon. Meanwhile, let's have a look at you, Akahana-chan."

She blushed brightly as I removed her robe and Luke began looking her over for injuries; she was clean outside of a few scratches on her hands from her rose bushes.

After moving Anzu to the futon where she finished her nap, Luke began working on Akahana. Our girls were happy, relaxed, and smelling wonderfully by the time their massages were done.

Later that evening, we were seeing our girls off to bed when we once again noticed Suzuko trying to give one of her dolls a massage when we turned to smile to one another as we knew which of the girls would wind up taking over the family business.

Afterwards, we quietly returned to the onsen where I was given my own massage followed by a love session in the futon before falling asleep in each other's arms.

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><p><strong>Carly: So the truth has been told and the girls now know of their past lives.<strong>

**TCW: Hai, quite.**

**Carly: And it would seem as though Suzuko is now planning to become a massage therapist.**

**TCW: Also true.**

**Carly: So nani is in store for the next chapter?**

**Next time…**

**Miyako: You get to catch up with me, Taka-chan, and our boys!**

**Ami: With a little bit featuring me, Pazu, and our family.**

**TCW: All this and still more to come.**

**Momoko and Carly: But only if you remember to review!**

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><p><strong>Also, I am currently running a poll on my profile page. For those who well know of my attempts to continue the Powerpuff Girls Z series will wish to cast their vote. Thank you in advance - The Cat Whispurrer<strong>


	90. Chapter 90

**Dear Readers,**

Okay, so after going back over this story and since learning new things, I wish everyone to know that sometime I will be going back over this story and editing it.

Does this mean I'm going to delete it? Maybe, but since I don't wish to lose so many great reviews, probably not.

What kind of changes are to take place? New words added while others are put into their correct places, for one thing. Second, a list of translated words to be put nto the chapters so that readers can find them easier since one cannot open two tabs with most mobile devices so as to switch back and forth between the chapter being read and the glossary on my profile page.

To some of those out there who believe that I'm using incorrect Japanese words in some places, please note that with the language, some definitions can vary depending on usage and inflection. Case in point: Konnichiwa, translates into Hello while Kon'nichiwa, translates into Good afternoon. Another example: Obaachan is grandmother while Obachan is aunt. When I find myself in doubt, I refer to my Random House Japanese-English English-Japanese Dictionary by Seigo Nakao. Also, please understand that while I do know some random Japanese words, I am not fluent in the language, though I would like to be; I just don't have enough time to devote to it.

So, in summary, this story will continue on Hiatus until I can think of a way to continue and while I make some necessary edits. I am sorry for the inconvenience, but rest assured that I am still accepting any and all polite reviews and will also entertain any suggestions on how to continue. Thank you-

The Cat Whispurrer


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